CardX in the Green Sheet: “Making the Most of the Rules: Passing on the Credit Card Fee”
“With tremendous momentum for passing on the credit card fee—whether in the form of a ‘surcharge’ or ‘cash discount’—it’s no surprise that ISOs and merchants are asking what these rules mean to them.
Last year, American merchants paid $77 billion in fees for accepting credit cards. These costs, however, are shifting more and more to the consumers who choose credit for convenience or rewards, as the buzz at every industry convention attests. And this trend will disrupt the traditional-processing incumbents and create a new paradigm—with new winners and losers.
With America increasingly adopting Australia’s model—where 42 percent of all merchants and a full 60 percent of large merchants pass on the credit card fee today—we can expect to see more enforcement from the card brands and state attorneys general, should these practices cross the line.
The biggest winners, then, will be the companies that build durable books of business by getting on the right side of the rules. To get started, there are some important things to know.”