October 03, 2011 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time
Merchants can find monthly savings on fees paid to banks and processors by examining how they are doing business
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--When the Federal Reserve’s new regulations on interchange fees take effect this month, limiting how much issuing banks can charge merchants for accepting debit card transactions, small businesses will be affected through a number of variables. Merchant Warehouse®, a leading innovator in credit card processing and merchant account services, today announced some of their best practices that merchants can implement that will help them recognize these savings as this regulation takes effect.
“The intent of the Durbin Amendment is to regulate the amount merchants are charged for accepting debit transactions”
“The intent of the Durbin Amendment is to regulate the amount merchants are charged for accepting debit transactions,” said Henry Helgeson, co-CEO of Merchant Warehouse. “Small businesses could be affected most by this regulation simply because they do not have the resources large retailers have dedicated to ensuring this amendment works in their favor. Small businesses need someone knowledgeable to guide them through this process, and as a payment processor, Merchant Warehouse sees an opportunity to guide and consult these merchants.”
Merchant Warehouse recommends small businesses examine their current means for accepting payments to see if there are ways of making the revision to interchange work in their favor:
- Examine your data and figure out the percentage of credit versus debit card transactions being processed. Most purchases under $50 are likely to be put on debit cards, and these transactions could see an estimated 30 percent reduction under the revised interchange fee.
- Check the pricing structure you are currently paying to your bank or processor. Small businesses should make sure that their pricing structure has been updated to pass on the savings from the processor to your business.
- Analyze your October monthly statement and compare it to a statement from month’s previous. If you do not see a savings in that statement contact your processor to discuss new ways to save.
Merchant Warehouse also recommends educating yourself on how this regulation will affect your business. Merchant Warehouse has recently updated its website with an entire Durbin Education center to help small business owners and consumers understand the full implication of the bill. Please visit our website: http://merchantwarehouse.com/durbin/
About Merchant Warehouse
Merchant Warehouse is an award winning provider of credit card processing and other payment processing solutions to small businesses nationwide. Headquartered in Boston, MA, since 1998, Merchant Warehouse provides merchant account services to hundreds of thousands of merchants with a No Contract, Lowest Overall Cost guarantee. For more information on Merchant Warehouse and the Durbin Amendment please visit merchantwarehouse.com.
