ward
Participating member
- Location
- Unincorporated Clackamas, OR
Taking credit card payments is standard business practice. Those cards, however, differ widely in the amount that they will charge. I just learned (forensically, retroactively) about "interchange" fees--these are extra fees which will be taken out of your account to pay for the Rewards card that some will use to pay.
I watched in amused bewilderment over the years as my merchant services jacked up their Visa rates from 2.5% to 3%, now at 4.5% for the base use of that plastic. Add the Rewards card "interchange fees" and the rate is actually around 6.8%.
I can understand how coffee shops could add a little extra on their coffee to cover these costs. As an arborist, however, these rates are staggering. An average $1,000 job, turns into a $932 job just to cover the cost of the customer's choice to use plastic.
In my state (Oregon) you can add this cost back in, telling the customer that if they wish to use plastic, they'll need to cover the cost of these fees. Not so in some states, I understand, where you can't discriminate against the customer's right to use plastic.
Are their better merchant services that people recommend that don't have "interchange fees", that have a flat low rate, etc. Or do some just opt out of the plastic game entirely? What's your experience of credit card charges?
I watched in amused bewilderment over the years as my merchant services jacked up their Visa rates from 2.5% to 3%, now at 4.5% for the base use of that plastic. Add the Rewards card "interchange fees" and the rate is actually around 6.8%.
I can understand how coffee shops could add a little extra on their coffee to cover these costs. As an arborist, however, these rates are staggering. An average $1,000 job, turns into a $932 job just to cover the cost of the customer's choice to use plastic.
In my state (Oregon) you can add this cost back in, telling the customer that if they wish to use plastic, they'll need to cover the cost of these fees. Not so in some states, I understand, where you can't discriminate against the customer's right to use plastic.
Are their better merchant services that people recommend that don't have "interchange fees", that have a flat low rate, etc. Or do some just opt out of the plastic game entirely? What's your experience of credit card charges?
Only thing is that the "interchange fees" I was talking about--they are something separate from your standard Visa or Mastercard charge. Since there are literally hundreds of these rewards cards (2x points, e.g.), you never really know what the charge will be unless you do a minor research project into the specific card's "interchange fee" at the point of sale (a highly problematic endeavor). These are the fees which show up as charges in addition to the flat rate charge (a fixed percent). You'd have to build into your pricing this potentiality. The base price of our service is going to look artificially high and it might lead to fewer jobs.
....I'll throw in that I run the square as much a possible if people want to pay with card on the spot. Invoice 2go charges me a bit more or maybe equal 2.75 % flat rate of sale as well,i believe last time I checked. Shpupd really follow up on that and make sure they're not jacking me.
