Contents tagged with Payment Industry

  • Fed will appeal debit fee ruling

    September 24, 2013
    As we’ve discussed, a recent court ruling on the debit card fee caps set by the Federal Reserve under the Durbin Amendment were found to be invalid.  The Fed was ordered to start over.  But before rewriting the debit card Interchange rules it originally issued in 2011, which would be a lengthy and disruptive process, the Fed has announced that it will appeal to a higher court.

    The Fed said it would pursue an expedited appeal in order to speed up resolution but if the judge lifts his stay on the decision to invalidate the current rules it would result in having no fee caps on debit-card transactions in place. Both banks and merchants have urged the Judge for the stay to continue until the appeal process concludes and new rules can be drafted. more

  • Who will claim their share of the Visa MasterCard multibillion-dollar settlement?

    July 10, 2013
    What is being billed as the largest antitrust settlement ever at $7.25 Billion, The Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation settlement received preliminary court approval back in November 2012. All merchants in the class action suit were notified that they had until May 28th to opt out. With this deadline behind us and only about 7,000 merchants out of more than 7 million merchant class members formally opting out, final court approval is exceedingly likely.

    Many of the merchants that did opt out were very large merchants like Amazon.com, 7-Eleven, CVS Pharmacy Inc., Target Corp., Macy’s Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. who opted out over concerns that the settlement gave Visa and MasterCard too much freedom to raise rates in the future. In choosing to … more

  • Visa MasterCard Change Surcharging Rules

    December 31, 2012
    As part of the Merchant Class Action Litigation Settlement, Visa and MasterCard will make changes to their merchant acceptance practices.

    Visa and MasterCard will change their rules effective January 27, 2013 pertaining to the surcharging of credit transactions at the point of sale. Please review the detailed communications on surcharging in their entirety at www.mastercardmerchant.com and www.visa.com/merchantsurcharging.

    In summary, and subject to any limitations identified on the above websites or in the upcoming rules changes, U.S. merchants may surcharge Visa and MasterCard credit card transactions (not debit or pre-paid card transactions) at the brand level or the product level, but not both, with the following conditions: (1) surcharges cannot exceed certain levels (generally the … more

  • Visa, MasterCard Settlement Order Appeal Rejected

    December 11, 2012
    Upon preliminary approval of the largest antitrust settlement ever at $7.25 Billion, the end is nearing for the Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation battle now in its seventh year. But some large retailers oppose the deal claiming they are being forced to forfeit their rights to sue over the card companies’ practices in the future. Filing their concerns in a federal appeals court to challenge the preliminary approval, a decision allowing plaintiffs to begin signing up more than 7 million eligible merchants, the court decided to defer the matter until after final judgment in the case had been issued, a decision expect late in 2013. more

  • Swipe-Fee Settlement Wins Preliminary Approval

    November 14, 2012
    As expected, the federal judge has now granted preliminary approval of a $7.25 billion class-action settlement in the Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation case saying opponent’s arguments were not persuasive enough to derail the deal.

    Calling opponent’s concerns voiced so far "overstated", the U.S. District Court Judge did note the bar for preliminary approval is significantly lower than for final approval, a decision not expected until next year.

    Under the settlement, millions of merchants would receive payments totaling $6.05 billion. Those merchants on direct Interchange pass through pricing will also see a temporarily reduced swipe fee by an amount equal to $1.2 billion. And merchants in states that don’t prohibit by law will be … more

  • IRS Merchant Services Tax Reporting Mandate

    October 11, 2012
    According to the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, beginning on January 1, 2012, Acquirers in the electronic payments industry were required to report credit card payments to the IRS.

    In addition, Acquirers are also responsible for performing backup withholding on any merchants whose information (name and tax ID) does not match IRS records.

    All merchants are encouraged to confirm that their merchant services provider has the most current, up to date and accurate TIN information on file. Merchants should consider submitting a copy of their W-9 form or a copy of the SS-4 form as part of the application process or upon any changes to their businesses legal structure that shows exactly how the merchant’s name is filed with the IRS therefore substantially reducing the … more

  • BankcardTerminals.com showcases new payment technologies

    September 25, 2012
    Vantage Card Services launches BankcardTerminals [+] as a new merchant service resource focused on the latest payment technology recommendations.

    Our passion has always been consulting with clients to help them identify, select and implement payment solutions to best meet their needs. With BankcardTerminals [+] we take the homework and feedback from working with others to showcase the best in class offerings on the market today.

    BankcardTerminals.com can help you plan your roadmap to the next generation of payment technology.

    Mobile commerce options are plentiful which means there is plenty to consider when making a decision.

    Virtual terminals and electronic invoicing solutions are delivered from the cloud providing feature rich solutions but deciding which one can be tricky.

    There … more

  • Interchange Lawsuit Update

    August 22, 2012
    In the seven-year old Interchange lawsuit (Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation case), a proposed settlement was announced on July 13, 2102, with an October 19, 2012 deadline to formally request approval from the court. If a preliminary approval is given at that time - a notice of the settlement will be sent to about 7 million U.S. merchants who accepted Visa or MasterCard credit cards since 2004. Then the judge overseeing the case must give a final approve before it can be implemented, which is not expected until the second half of 2013.

    In the meantime, opposition to the settlement has grown claiming the settlement doesn’t do enough for merchants. Some trade groups have announced plans to fight the settlement in court. Both Target and Wal-Mart … more

  • Will the Visa/MasterCard Interchange Fee Agreement Hold?

    July 31, 2012
    If the proposed settlement in the Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation case is approved, merchants will receive billions of dollars, a temporary Interchange rate reduction and the ability to surcharge card payment transactions. In return, the agreement releases Visa and MasterCard from future legal claims regarding Interchange, network rules, merchant fees and related issues by merchants.

    Both the National Grocers Association and the National Association of Convenience Stores say they will oppose the agreement on the basis that the agreement does not address how Interchange is set or the complexity of Interchange fee schedules. Target and Wal-Mart are not plaintiffs in this case, but have criticized the proposed settlement for similar reasons and … more

  • Payment Card Usage Surcharges

    July 31, 2012
    In the proposed settlement of the Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation case, merchants would win the ability to impose surcharges on customers who use card payments.

    However, according to analysis of the proposed settlement, the ability to surcharge customers includes numerous restrictions and requirements:

    The surcharge amount will be limited by a cap established by Visa and MasterCard and by card type (debit card surcharge allowances to differ from credit card surcharge allowances)

    Merchants will be required to notify Visa and MasterCard before surcharging begins.

    Merchants post signs notifying customers that they surcharge

    Merchants must include the surcharge amount of any fee on receipts

    Merchants are not allowing a surcharge on Visa and … more