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legally sanctioned pricing decisions. "And by making
cash discount programs confusing and fining ISOs for
non-compliance, Visa effectively stopped ISOs from
showing consumers how much Visa charged," MiCamp
noted in its court filing.

Well, that horse left the gate—metaphorically—when
merchants coined the term "swipe fee" in their ongoing
dispute over rising interchange. Consumers know that
it costs merchants money to accept card payments.
A moratorium on interchange hikes?

Here's one thing I don't get: if Visa is so concerned
about public perception, why not place a moratorium
on interchange price hikes? Clearly, Visa and card
issuers are able to make money in the EU, Australia
and other countries where interchange is capped at
a fraction of what U.S. merchants pay. If they weren't
making money under those caps, it's a safe bet they
wouldn't be doing business in those countries.

Besides, it's not like Americans are up in arms over
surcharging and cash discounting. We're accustomed
to getting discounts for cash and paying "convenience
fees" when filling up our gas tanks, purchasing event
tickets, etc. Plus, the merchants, ISOs and agents I've
spoken with say there has been little to no customer
blowback.

Here's another thing I don't get: differential pricing
eliminates a major pain point for merchants, and a
serious point of contention between them and the card
brands. If merchants are not directly affected—that
is, if they are not shelling out the cost of interchange
themselves (or most of it, since debit cards can't be
surcharged)—they will be less inclined to harangue
the card brands and issuers over interchange, and seek
legislative remedies.

Maybe it's just a control thing. Visa has always called
the shots when it comes to card payments. Allowing
for ISO and merchant discretion over how interchange
gets passed on detracts from that power dynamic.

In a 2017 ruling, the Supreme Court took New York to
task for regulating how merchants disclose credit card
surcharges to customers, asserting that it amounted
to an infringement on merchants' free speech rights.
Couldn't the same be said for Visa's micromanagement
of cash discounting and surcharging?

Here's a thought: let merchants and cardholders work
things out between themselves. That is, after all, how
free markets are supposed to work.

Patti Murphy, self-described payments maven of the fourth estate, is
senior editor at the Green Sheet. She also co-hosts the Merchant Sales
Podcast, and is president of ProScribes Ink, www.proscribes.net

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