Contents tagged with Payment Industry

  • Visa extends Small Ticket Interchange to more Merchants

    February 12, 2010
    Visa has announced additions to the CPS/Small Ticket Interchange Program, currently available to Local Commuter Transport, Taxicabs and Limousine, Restaurants, Fast Food Restaurants, Parking Lots and Garages, Motion Picture Theaters, Video Rental Stores, Bus Lines, Tolls and Bridge Fees, News Dealers, Laundries, Dry Cleaners, Quick Copy, Car Wash and Service Stations.

    Effective October 2010, Small Ticket Interchange will be extended to most merchant category codes (MCCs).  Current Small Ticket Interchange applies to transactions less than $15.  The current Visa Small Ticket Credit Interchange is 1.65% + $0.04 and the Visa Small Ticket Debit Interchange is 1.55% + $0.04.

    This is an effective reduction in the overall Interchange costs for most merchant categories.  However, … more

  • The Fifth Anniversary of Reward Card Interchange

    January 22, 2010
    Reward credit cards are used by card companies to compete with one another for the business of affluent consumers. Card issuers attempt to influence the purchase behaviors of cardholders with higher spending limits by rewarding them to spend more at merchant locations. And by most accounts they have been successful.

    This spring marks the 5th anniversary of rewards Interchange. The decision to implement a higher rate for a rewards card verses a non-rewards card was introduced in response to a growing American Express market share. The competitive landscape in 2005 found MasterCard and Visa card issuers increasingly using rewards as a key component of their cardholder acquisition strategies in order to compete with AmEx for affluent consumers.

    So in April 2005, both MasterCard and Visa … more

  • Debit Network Fee Updates

    January 12, 2010
    NYCE and CU24 PIN debit networks have announced modifications to the current rates. 

    Effective February 1, 2010 NYCE will implement the following changes:

    The switch fee will be decreased from $0.05 to $0.0425.

    Retail merchants will be billed at 0.75% + $0.2125 per transaction. The minimum transaction fee will be decreased to $0.3025.

    Quick Service Restaurant merchants will be billed at 0.55% + $0.1075 per transaction with a maximum fee of $0.5425. The minimum transaction fee will be decreased to $0.2275.

    Supermarket merchants will be decreased to $0.3025.

    Petroleum merchants will be billed at 0.85% + $0.1925 per transaction. The minimum transaction fee will be decreased to $0.3025.

    Returns will be decreased to $0.0425 per transaction.

    PINless … more

  • April 2010 Interchange Adjustments

    January 11, 2010
    MasterCard and Visa have announced New April 2010 Interchange adjustments. 

    MasterCard

    Currently, MasterCard's Assessment fee is 0.095%. MasterCard will increase the Assessment fee to 0.110%.

    While new rates have not yet been announced, MasterCard is introducing new Interregional Interchange programs for:

    MasterCard World Card

    MasterCard World Elite

    World MasterCard for Business

    MasterCard Corporate World

    World Elite MasterCard Business

    MasterCard Corporate World Elite

    Effective April 2010, MasterCard is revising the qualification criteria for Commercial Face to Face and Commercial Data Rate II.  Zero will no longer be accepted as a valid tax value to qualify for these Interchange rate categories.  If a commercial transaction has no sales tax, the … more

  • Salvation Army deploys card acceptance

    December 15, 2009
    The Salvation Army is accepting credit and debit cards for contributions this holiday season in more regions nationwide. News articles from around the country have reported on the card terminals at the traditionally all cash "Red Kettles" which collect donations to support programs such as food for the homeless and toys for needy children.

    The Salvation Army is smart to provider donors with the convenience of more payment options including Visa, MasterCard and American Express card transactions. Realizing that many people don't carry cash, the Salvation Army kettles are adjusting to the changing payment choices consumers are making.

    The Salvation Army has deployed card acceptance to:

    Increase overall red kettle donations

    Eliminate "not carrying any cash" as an excuse for not giving … more

  • U.S. Merchants receive $1.1 Billion Final Payment Early

    December 08, 2009
    The law firm Constantine Cannon LLP announced today that approximately $1.1 billion in payments will be mailed to approximately 634,000 merchants across the United States, the final large-scale disbursement in the landmark Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation settlement. 

    In re Visa Check/MasterMoney Antitrust Litigation is still the largest antitrust settlement in U.S. history.  The settlement with Visa and MasterCard was negotiated in 2003 and this final payment, likely the largest single payment to businesses in class action history, represents an accelerate payment schedule that was not set to end until 2012. 

    In addition to the monetary compensation to merchants, Visa and MasterCard agreed to eliminate their “Honor All Cards” policies, which … more

  • Retailers likely to see lower Interchange costs this holiday season

    December 02, 2009
    Retailers are likely to see lower Interchange processing expenses this holiday season due to fewer consumers using credit cards and rewards cards.  According to a WSJ article, Fewer Shoppers Using Credit Cards for Gifts, there has been a drop in the number of shoppers paying with credit cards.   Higher interest rates, lower spending limits, canceled accounts, maxed out cards and watered-down rewards programs are all cited as reasons for the decline.

    In general consumer spending has shifted from credit to debit during the recession. In the third quarter of 2009, credit transactions for Visa and MasterCard reached $313 billion, an 11.58% decline over the same quarter in 2008, according to TowerGroup. Debit transaction volume for Visa and MasterCard was $303 billion, a 5.21% … more

  • Internet gambling regulations implemented

    December 02, 2009
    The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System have issued regulations implementing the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act requiring U.S. financial institutions and certain “participants in designated payment systems” to establish and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to identify and block or otherwise prevent or prohibit unlawful internet gambling transactions covered by this Act. Compliance by these participants is required immediately. more

  • New gift card rules proposed

    December 02, 2009
    The Federal Reserve Board announced proposed rules that would restrict fees and expiration dates on store branded and network-branded gift cards intended to protect consumers.   The proposed rules would prohibit dormancy, inactivity, and service fees on gift cards unless: (1) there has been at least one year of inactivity on the certificate or card; (2) no more than one such fee is charged per month; and (3) the consumer is given clear and conspicuous disclosures about the fees. Expiration dates for funds underlying gift cards must be at least five years after the date of issuance, or five years after the date when funds were last loaded. more

  • Vote to Abolish Check Clearing

    November 30, 2009
    According to an article in Bank Technology News, the United Kingdom may stop clearing checks by 2018.  A number of large retailers in the UK have already stopped taking checks or are phasing them out with only three percent of retail spending by check in the UK in 2008, a decline of by about 66 percent over the past two decades.

    The trend toward cards and electronic payments has become strong enough that the largest banks in the UK have arranged a vote to stop clearing checks.  Estimates of check clearing cost are roughly $1.66, or about four times as much as electronic payments and would lead to substantial savings for banks. more