Merchant Rate Review

 

Visa-MasterCard adjust interchange rates an average of 1-2 times a year

And when they do so, your rates go up. So if your business has been processing credit cards for over 2 years, your rates have gone up considerably since you set your account up.

Many merchants pay excessive ‘downgraded’ rates instead of the qualified discount rate. This is due to the fact that their account was not set up correctly for their specific type of processing - or they were not trained properly on how to reduce downgrades.

For the Best Merchant Rates Insist on a Detailed Interchange Rate Quote

• ALL merchants large and small can get an Interchange rate price structure to lower their costs.
• We quote your Merchant Rates without batch fees, AVS fees, annual fees, PCI compliance fees, non-qualified surcharge fees, and other hidden fees.
• Print your proposal and the merchant application and terms and conditions.
• Don’t choose a payment card processing provider until you receive a detailed Interchange rate quote.

Start With an Understanding of Interchange

• Learning about Interchange will give you the knowledge you need to negotiate your best merchant rates. Interchange is the largest component of your discount rate pricing. Interchange fees are paid to cardholder-issuing banks and these rates are set by MasterCard and Visa card associations. Interchange pricing depends on:
  • Your industry category
  • Your card acceptance method
  • The type of card you accept
• Regulating credit card Interchange is making news headlines with the Draft Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada.
• Small and mid-sized businesses must insist on an Interchange pricing method just as the largest merchants already pay to get the best bottom line processing costs.
• An opposing view of Interchange can be studied below
  • The Payments Accountability Council is a broad-based group of Canadian merchants and retail associations whose primary goal is to educate policy-makers, consumers and the media about issues affecting the Retail industry in Canada. They promote protecting consumer value, choice and competition in electronic payments systems.

We’ve Identified the Interchange Rates for your Industry by Charge Type

• Your CardSolve International proposal contains detail about Interchange in your quote.
  • You will accept a diverse mix of credit and debit cards for payment from your customers.
  • Specific card types include signature debit, Interac, rewards, enhanced, world, business and corporate.
• The types of cards you accept play a role in determining your overall processing expenses.
  • There are over 200 million Visa check cards in the market accounting for over 40% of Visa sales volume and these are coming to Canada. Make sure you compare quotes for credit and check card rates independently.
  • 2/3 of consumers have a rewards credit card, many with 2 or more. If you are not being quoted a rewards card rate, carefully examine the fine print for the definitions of mid/non qualified rates!
  • Visa transactions may account for nearly 70% of your bankcard acceptance. Consider card market share and price structure when comparing quotes.
• Certain industries qualify for reduced incentive Interchange pricing levels. Examples include supermarkets, business-to-business, schools, non-profits, restaurants and more.
• For existing businesses, one of the keys to lowering your cost of accepting credit and debit card payments is to calculate your real rate and then run comparisons to find the average monthly credit card merchant fees for your industry.

Get All Merchant Rate Quotes In the Same Format

• Get merchant account rate quotes for MasterCard, Visa and Discover separately and inquire if any incentive rates are available.
• It can be difficult to compare merchant services quotes from one provider to the next. The problem is that most merchant account providers quote a qualified “rate as low as” price then surcharge “non-qualified” transactions.
  • Compare ALL Interchange categories and make sure your quote is not just on “Qualified” Interchange rates with additional surcharges applied in the fine print.
• Visa and MasterCard publish their Interchange rates so you can monitor these costs.
  • Visa Canada Interchange rates are published at
  • http://www.visa.ca/en/aboutcan/mediacentre/interchange/pdf/interchange-rates_2009.pdf
  • An explanation of Visa Canada Interchange rates are published at http://www.visa.ca/en/aboutcan/mediacentre/interchange/pdf/interchange_brochure.pdf
• The transparency of Interchange with a mark up to cover the merchant services delivery costs of network communications, risk management, customer service, account funding and reporting is your best pricing method. Identifying merchant service providers that simply pass through Interchange will make it easier to compare rate quotes.

Read the Merchant Agreement Fine Print

• Three-year contract terms are normal and early termination fees can run from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
• For most merchants, taking simple steps goes a long way toward protecting their interest.
  • Recognize that there is contact fine print governing the operation of your merchant account.
  • Obtaining a copy of the legal T&C before signing the application.
  • Read all the numbered headings and make sure you have a full copy not a summary.
  • Pay close attention to the term and termination section.
  • Discover who has authority to legally waive contract terms.
• Contract language also plays an important role in determining your true cost of service. Consider the difference:
  • Pay for all authorization attempts vs. only settled transactions.
  • Different ways companies define Mid-Qualified and Non-Qualified rate surcharges.
• READ and understand the fine print before you select a merchant services provider and establish your merchant account.

Free Rate Analysis

Now is the time to evaluate your current credit card processing rates.

The CardSolve International’s merchant processing program can make a difference to your bottom line by offering the lowest rates and the highest quality service in the industry

Fax us a recent monthly processing statement today (877-982-4274). Our pricing team will analyze and develop an annual savings projection specific to your business.

Your Next Steps...

Are You An Existing Client?
Click Here To Request your next Merchant Rate Review

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Or, Are You Looking For A New Processor Or Merchant Services?
New Merchants And Referrals Are Warmly Welcomed By Murray MacGillivray.
Click Here To Get Your Free New Merchant Consultation