The Green Sheet Interviews CardX on Visa Bulletin Sending “Shockwave” Through Payments Industry
“Yesterday, Visa Inc. issued ‘Cash Discounting and Discount Offers Explained,’ a new bulletin devised to clarify what is and is not permitted under Visa Rules for cash discount programs. Visa stated that because of the increasing popularity of cash discount or discount offer programs, Visa is ‘reminding U.S. acquirers, merchants, processors and agents that discount offer programs should be evaluated to ensure compliance with the Visa Rules.’
That sounds straightforward enough, and Jonathan Razi, CEO of CardX, said his company welcomes Visa’s guidance. ‘Visa’s bulletin gives our industry much-needed clarity: “cash discount” is not a loophole within the rules, and merchants that add a fee at the point of sale must comply with the requirements for surcharging, regardless of what they call the fee,’ he told The Green Sheet.
Razi believes Visa’s clarification will ‘not only help customers avoid unfair fees charged to debit cards, but also help merchants and sales professionals know what to look for in a compliant solution’ […] adding, ‘This is why we’ve invested in developing products that put compliance first and meet these requirements automatically.’”