Collection agencies should review their policies and merchant agreements.
2/7/2020 11:30
Collection agencies may be impacted by changes to swipe fees announced by Visa.
Businesses that pay to accept Visa cards will see a change in their rates in the coming months and payment processors will need to update their systems to prepare merchants for the change, according to a Bloomberg report.
Because federal and state laws impact a debt collector’s ability to charge consumers transaction fees, also known as convenience or swipe fees, Visa’s change could generate more expense or savings that may impact businesses and consumers. ACA International members may find more guidance in the ACA SearchPoint document: Payment Transaction Fees.
The change announced by Visa Inc. is the most significant in a decade and will vary for different merchants, Bloomberg reports.
“The company’s interchange rates—fees charged every time a consumer uses a card—will go up or down depending on the merchant and the way a consumer pays for their purchases, according to a document Visa sent to banks that outlines the changes,” according to the article. “Higher rates are looming for transactions on e-commerce sites, while retailers in certain services categories, such as real estate and education, will see fees decline.”
The new fees are expected to be implemented in two phases, one in April and one in October.
Bloomberg reports that with the rate changes the fees for “card not present” transactions, in other words phone or online payments, will increase.
Visa lowered rates for health care, education and real estate as part of the new fee structure in an effort to add use of its cards in those industries, according to the article.
ACA International members may find more information on payment processing through the ACA SearchPoint library and the Payments tab, particularly the Payment Transaction Fee and Adding Fees to Debts documents.