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ReadersSpeak

Card network non-interchange
pass-through fees

en Musante's article "Card net-
work non-interchange pass-
through fees," published Oct. 9,
K 2023, in issue 23:10:01, garnered
attention from readers concerned about these fees.
Following is a Q&A that continues to explore the issues
Ken brought up in the article:

Ken,

You wrote a great article in The Green Sheet on NIPTF
fees. I like the fact that your article goes beyond in-
formation to give the reader insight into what is caus-
ing the fees to increase and the fact that they often go
unnoticed and unaddressed. The one thing I was left
asking though is: How does the merchant use tools to
minimize these fees? What is correct “authorization hy-
giene,” to use your term? Could there be a follow-up
article there? Thanks.
Mark Dunn
Field Guide Enterprises LLC

Thank you, Mark, for the kind words and encourage-
ment. While I may indeed write a follow up, the imme-
diate answer to your question is to evaluate the NIPTF
percentage and look for instances where it's beyond the
high teens in basis points. There may be a reason for it
to be high, such as if the merchant has a lot of foreign
transactions, but look at the underlying and individual
NIPTF categories. If you see substantial fees from the
following categories—Misuse of Auth, Zero Floor Limit
or Decline Transaction Resubmission Fee— the mer-
chant has issues with authorization fidelity.

I shared in the article that these fees are "sinister." There
is no publicly available schedule. There are over 100
different categories, and they are growing as a percent-
age of the merchant's discount. Being aware of them,
the cost drivers and how to minimize will be more im-
portant for sales professionals and platforms going for-
ward.

Unfortunately, the answer to your question is: It's dif-
ficult, and analysis is needed to identify and mitigate
the issue.
Ken Musante
Napa Payments and Consulting

What's on your mind?
This page is an ideal spot for you to raise questions
about articles we've published or to spotlight is-
sues and developments you'd like us to explore more.
We will welcome your questions and comments at
greensheet@greensheet.com.

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