Interchange fees are one of the three main processing fee categories paid by businesses that accept credit card payments.
Select industries, such as healthcare, education, and real estate, have always benefited from special discounts to their interchange fees.
Recently, there has been a change in how these discounts are applied.
While the actual discounts have technically improved, Visa introduced a minimum threshold of $500 per transaction to qualify for the lower interchange rates.
As a result, some businesses within these industries will see a net increase to their overall processing fees.
This assumes that the merchant account had been set up properly to begin with. Proper account setup is complicated, and many processors struggle to apply all of the settings that will benefit the merchant most.
Because of this, many businesses have never actually received discounts related to their industries.
Proper account setup is crucial to avoid overpaying interchange and other processing fees.
To verify that your merchant account is properly set, contact Verisave for a complimentary analysis.
The introduction of this minimum threshold is just one of many recent changes.
The payments industry is constantly evolving, and it can be difficult to stay on top of new developments and updates.
Find more breaking news from the experts at Verisave here:
Verisave is a third-party cost-reduction firm specializing in merchant accounts and credit card processing fees.
Verisave is not a payment processor, and is not affiliated with any processors, card brands, or banks.
Verisave has more than 20 years of experience optimizing and monitoring the credit card processing industry.