If you’re a retailer, the headline alone was all you needed to sit up and pay attention. There’s no greater frustration (well, maybe a small few greater frustrations) than sorting through your monthly merchant account statement, then realizing just how much all those nickle and dime fees add up to each month. Even more unnerving are the fees attached to debit cards—a financial tool that doesn’t even require credit extension (read: risk) on the part of banks, since if the money’s there, the transaction goes through. If it’s not, well, according to the new credit card rules, no go, Joe.
Rather than reiterate what’s been written elsewhere, here’s a link to an article that ran on the Home Accents Today website (thanks, Wes Kennedy, for the tip via Twitter). Read up, the grab a pen and write your Senator. This is one of those times retailers’ voices need to be heard, loud and clear.
Click here to tell me what you think....
Nothing new here.
Retailers have been charged a surcharge on every credit card purchase since LONG before the advent of the “swipe”.
Ever see a retailer that took Visa a Master Card but did not take American Express? That was because American Express charged almost twice as much per transaction; and it was a bigger hassle: their bank couldn’t handle it, it had to go through AMEX and they had to wait for a Check to get money from the sale.
Nothing new…
Mark
While surcharges are not new, the payment options *have* evolved over the past fifteen years, making it vital to address the way fees are being applied to them. It’s in every small business owner’s best interest to examine the monthly statements from the past year, determine which fees tie to which types, sizes, and credit card brands, then analyze how they impact the bottom line.
I’ve been a big believer in renegotiating (or changing, if need be) merchant account contracts. What worked five years ago may well be crippling a business today.