April 2009 interchange rate changes are here. Visa and Mastercard release updates to the interchange rates several times a year, with the most significant changes normally occurring in April. For 2009, those changes include the following:
(WARNING: For the average business owner this may not mean much. Heck, its my JOB to know this stuff and it still sounds like “blah, blah, blah” half the time! If this gets too painful to read, click here for 7 easy tips you can use to start saving money on your Merchant Account today).
Visa: Visa will modify several Consumer Credit and Signature Preferred Interchange fees. Visa is lowering Card Not Present, Key Entry and E-Commerce Interchange rates as well as lowering Hotel and Car Rental rate categories. Restaurants will be impacted by a 5 basis point increase on Visa Rewards cards. Visa will extend Small Ticket Interchange Rates to Service Stations when the transaction size is $15.00 or less. Visa will modify Interlink Interchange fees including the establishment a unique Interlink interchange category for Automated Fuel Dispenser (AFD) and Service Station transactions.
MasterCard: MasterCard will modify commercial Interchange rates. MasterCard will launch the availability for issuers to enroll Consumer World accounts in the “World High Value” program to qualify for differentiated interchange. As of April 2009, Interchange rates for the new category will mirror those currently used for the Consumer World Elite cards, so there will be no immediate impact of this launch. In an upcoming April 2009 initiative, the MasterCard Acquirer Access fee that is currently in place and being billed at a pass through cost of $0.005 per authorization is being eliminated and replaced with Network Access and Brand Usage (NABU) fee which will be billed at a pass through cost of $0.0185 per authorization. This MasterCard change will greatly impact merchants with small transaction sales.
Realistically, what does this mean to you and your business? It depends on the type of business you are in and what categories the bulk of your business falls under. I recommend you check with your Merchant Account provider and find out if any opportunities for cost savings exist for your unique situation. (The way I set up the majority of my accounts automatically passes on new interchange fluctuations without the need for revamping their rate schedule. For more information on how I do this, click here).
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