On January 29, 2014, Mercury Payment Systems was sued for deceptively overcharging their merchants among other allegations. We believe this lawsuit is a step in the right direction to shed light on unethical businesses in the merchant services industry. In this article, we want to give you a few tips on how to spot deceptive charges on your business’s credit card processing statement.
We recently completed a cost comparison analysis for a local restaurant in Lincoln, NE and determined they were victims of these deceptive charges from Mercury Payment Systems. They were being charged an extra $60 per month in inflated interchange fees – interchange fees are non-negotiable and the same cost for any business. Even though these fees are listed on the monthly statement, they can be difficult to understand and pinpoint. In this particular case, here’s where you would want to look on your statement (click the graphic to enlarge):
Here are some common deceptive charges that you should be aware of:
- Falsely inflating interchange fees – interchange levels are public knowledge. Click here for the full interchange level pricing list.
- Charging merchants for security fees that provide no value.
- Not passing on interchange fee reductions made by card brands.
- Charging arbitrary fees such as “re-underwriting fees” when no such action took place.
- Not passing on Durbin dollar savings to merchants but falsely telling the merchants the opposite.
(source: http://www.merchantservicesdefense.com/merchant_resources/)
If you have questions about your statement or want to know if you’ve been affected by deceptive charges such as these, please call us at (402) 206.2233. We would be happy to look over your statements. For more information about the CHIPD Team, please visit www.chipdpay.com.