CardX in Digital Transactions: “Surcharging Is Poised to Gain Momentum As State Bans Fall And Acquirers Spot Opportunities”
“Surcharges on credit card transactions could pick up momentum now that only four states effectively ban the practice, a panel of experts indicated Wednesday at a merchant-acquiring trade show. That momentum may benefit not only merchants wary of card-acceptance costs but also merchant-service providers that focus on surcharging as a business opportunity, the panel indicated.
Panelist Jonathan Razi, founder and chief executive of CardX LLC, estimated that, with these legal barriers having fallen, ‘94% of the U.S. population is open to surcharging.’ CardX specializes in creating surcharging programs that can be offered to merchants via merchant-service providers.
The opportunity in surcharging, however, could soon grow even larger if the four states that still ban the practice relent on the matter. Razi, for example, says CardX is already ‘actively engaged’ with these governments. In these talks, the company stresses a social-justice angle. ‘Merchants raise prices on all customers if credit card costs go up,’ he said. ‘That’s regressive for cash customers from a lower income bracket.’”