Who Benefits from the changes, and How it will affect the Retailers and Customers

[Adam Fleming]

Credit card surcharge was the bone of contention in an antitrust lawsuit filed 2005. As a result, the judgment in this case, which came in mid-2012, prohibited credit card surcharge in ten States. The implementation of their respective laws is underway in another 12 States.

Credit card regulations have traditionally opposed surcharging. Yet, companies have been devising ways by which they have sidestepped merchant rules and have continued to ensure that credit card surcharge gets levied. A kind of cat and mouse game is currently being witnessed, with State laws continuing to override networks merchant rules and companies looking out for ways to skirt the laws.

The issue of credit card surcharging in the US

The reason for which credit card surcharge is an issue for businesses is that it is the last link in the payment chain. A business that makes use of this facility incurs this expense at the rate set out by the authorities. It can be understood as a checkout fee that gets added to every consumer’s shopping bill whenever a credit card is used to make payments for the purchases made at the business. Businesses are not willing to bear this expense, and naturally, like to pass it on to the consumer.

What the court judgment of 2012 did was to permit charging of credit card surcharge for certain card transactions from January 2013. This judgment brought about a change in not only merchant processing transactions but also of credit card usage. The settlement it directed makes it mandatory for businesses that levy the credit card surcharge to follow requirements relating to consumer disclosure and to set limits on the amounts for which the surcharge is collected.

In addition, those businesses that accept credit cards to receive payments should also notify Visa and their acquirer of their decision to charge credit card surcharge a month before they begin to levy the surcharge. These rules vary from State to State, and the business is free to choose the brands of its outlet for which it wants to keep the credit card surcharge.

Total clarity on the issue

Sorting out the various confusions and misunderstandings pertaining to the credit card surcharge issue is the purpose of a webinar that Compliance4All, a leading provider of professional trainings for all the areas of regulatory compliance, is organizing. The speaker at this session, Ray Graber, a highly experienced professional in the payment industry, who brings deep and profound understanding of the way banking and finance converge with technology, will clarify the issues relating to this topic at this webinar.

In order to have your issues relating to credit card surcharging cleared, please visit payment methods like checks and cash to register for this webinar.  

Clarity on all aspects of credit card surcharging

The aim of this webinar is to clear the muddle that has resulted from the changes in the rules. The speaker will explain who benefits from the changes, and how these changes are going to affect the retailers and customers. The adverse consequences of an uninformed reaction to surcharging by end-user organizations will be explained. Ray will emphasize the importance of first looking at the big picture of credit card surcharging, as end-users should also educate suppliers about the economics of card acceptance, explaining to them the savings possible and other benefits.

Business logic dictates that suppliers should not be adding a surcharge when they are reaping the rewards. Ray will explain how they might overlook the benefits of card acceptance, as well as the cost of other payment methods like checks and cash.  

At this webinar, Ray will cover the following areas:

o  What changed in the rules?

o  Why did it change?

o  What rules apply to surcharge?

o  Survey results

o  Who may benefit?

o  Will this change anything?

o  Summary.

This learning session will offer benefit to every level of employee who works in the credit card industry, such as financial officers, small business owners, corporate risk officers, internal auditors, operational risk managers, credit card program administrators, CPA's and attorneys and legal staff.

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