May 10
4
Why You Need Interchange Plus Pricing For Your Merchant Account!
Depending on your customer base; the typical bundled Qualified, Mid Qualified and Non-Qualified pricing plans that you’ll find offered by most merchant services providers may not be the best for your business. If you are seeing a large majority of “Mid_Qualified” or “Non-Qualified” transactions on your statement, you definitely need to look into getting Interchange Plus pricing also known as “Straight Pass-Through Pricing”. This is especially true for merchants who key-in transactions or accept corporate, business, purchasing or government credit cards.
Interchange Plus is the only plan in which all transaction rates are affected directly by the Visa/MC Interchange Rates (a set of pre-defined rules by Visa/MC that determines pricing for each card) that the merchant services provider is charged directly. So instead of being billed a Qualified, Mid Qualified, and Non-Qualified bundled rate, you are billed whatever Visa/MC charges for that particular card type plus a minimal processing fee that is determined by the merchant account provider.
When Interchange plus pricing was first introduced it was only available to certain merchants that had extremely high credit card volume such as large retail chains like WalMart and Target ect. But now due to the competitive nature of the industry and the fact that Visa/MC is now more transparent about their Interchange rates, all merchants now have the ability to sign up for Interchange Plus pricing if they wish to do so.
Real-Time Visa and MasterCard Interchange Charts:
The following links will take you to the real-time Visa/MC Interchange Charts (directly from their respective web sites) and give an overview of the different Interchange Categories that are set by Visa and MC. Many Merchants may find it difficult to understand these charts as it breaks down the pricing for each individual card and transaction type. So if you have questions on anything you see on these interchange charts, please don’t hesitate to contact us so that we may help clarify what your seeing.
Again these rates are not as “simple” to decipher as there are literally hundreds, approx 185 different rate categories, that are confusing to understand unless you are an expert in the merchant services industry. It is important though to try and understand the basics of how the interchange rates work, so that you have a better understanding and more control over your merchant account and what you are paying in processing fees.
Tailored Transactions are the interchange experts and specialize in setting up industry specific merchants accounts, so that your business can take full advantage of the many preferred pricing program’s that Visa and MasterCard make available. Our team of Merchant Business Consultants will work with you to answer any questions you have on Interchange Plus pricing and explain the many advantages of utilizing this great pricing method.
You can visit us at www.tailoredtransactions.com or contact us directly Toll Free at 888-669-1686
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