Merchants are now facing hefty fines if they impose surcharges on customers paying with credit cards that are over 3% from VISA and Mastercard. Card giants are now getting back up from some states in imposing a cap on how much merchants can surcharge on credit card transactions and the process to do so. A new bill introduced in NJ follows existing rules from VISA and Mastercard that prohibit fees from exceeding the cost a merchant pays to process payments and states that merchants must put customers on notice when a surcharge is being imposed. If the bill passes in NJ and is followed by other states, it will give cover to the credit card giants against any legal battles in the future.
Credit card processing fees continue to rise and have become a significant financial burden for merchants. With little to no regulations, credit card companies continue to impose new rules, and merchants are left with few options to process payments without having to cut costs somewhere else in their operations. Industry professionals say they suspect that VISA put a surcharge cap in place because of the negative reaction by consumers to those merchant surcharges.
Consumers are looking for options and savings when it comes to payments and changes in the payments industry, like instant payments, cryptocurrency, and others are now opening new doors for merchants to offer choices and saving to their customers. As always, we are on the forefront of new payment processing solutions and can help your business bring new solutions to your customers. Contact us today to learn more.