Optimized Payments

Payments Around the World This week the team at Optimized Payments is starting a blog series titled, Payments Around the World. This is an opportunity for us to share insights and trends gleaned from 200+ consulting engagements and analytics projects from around the globe. First up, an article about Interac debit in Canada from our colleague, Jim Paradis, CPP. Our next post will dive into all the payment methods in China. #analytics #payments #interac #globalpayments #optimiz...edpayments https://optimizedpayments.com//interac-debit-is-more-than/

We'd like to congratulate our very own Jim Paradis for passing his Certified Payments Professional exam! Way to go Jim!

Cash is becoming a less preferred method of payment due to an increased dependability on credit cards, apps, and online shopping, especially during the pandemic. With the use of non-cash payments, comes increased costs for merchants in the form of high interchange fees. Interchange fees are paid to the card issuing bank and can be as high as 3%. These fees help pay for cardholder rewards offered by many credit cards in the form of cash back, points, or airline miles. Merchant...s paid $53.6 billion in just Visa and MasterCard interchange fees in 2019. That does not include the fees paid to the merchant acquirer or to the payment networks. Customers generally pay the same price, regardless of the payment method. For small businesses, increased dependability on credit card payments may not be as rewarding as it is for customers. For instance, Bump ’n Grind, a local coffee and vinyl record shop in Maryland says it’s a growing burden. More money was spent on roasting its own coffee beans ($12,827) than on credit-card processing fees ($18,645) to financial institutions enabling cashless transactions. The burden persists with rising COVID-19 pandemic tensions. https://www.wsj.com//the-credit-card-fees-merchants-hate-b

Hear what some of our customers had to say about working with us. We've been very fortunate to have worked with some amazing clients!

Look for some big changes to Visa's swipe fees. Visa, Inc. is planning the biggest changes to their swipe fees in a decade. For many organizations, swipe fees represent one of their top five operating costs. Swipe fees continue to grow not only due to an increase in card sales, but also due to increases in interchange and network fees.... Visa’s new fees will be rolled out in April and October with the Spring and Fall releases. Some merchant categories will see a decline in their interchange rates, such as healthcare and education, while others in the card-not-present arena will see an increase. Read the Bloomberg article to learn more: https://www.bloomberg.com//visa-is-planning-the-biggest-ch

We published this article a few months ago but the information remains relevant. Strategically Managing Card Swipe Fees https://ciotechie.com//strategically-managing-card-swipe-/

For many organizations, swipe fees represent one of their top five operating costs. Swipe fees continue to grow, not only due to an increase in card sales, but also due to increases in interchange and network fees. Just this spring, Visa and MasterCard announced significant increases in certain interchange categories and cross-border fees. Some merchants will see their swipe costs increase by up to five percent from 2018 to 2019 simply due to fee increases. This is not to mention the additional costs created by upgrading POS systems and payment terminals, adding a security solution (e.g. encryption, tokenization, fraud) and implementing omnichannel strategies (e.g., endless aisle, global tokens). Read our article on reducing payment fees in the 2019 AFP Exchange magazine. https://optimizedpayments.com//2019-AFP-Fall-Magazine-Swip

Have you registered for this year's AFP Conference taking place in Boston? If not, check out the list of speakers and educational sessions: https://conference.afponline.org/speakers