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Insights and Expertise

Cutting swipe fees: ery restaurant, whether it be a café or full-service es-

tablishment, can stand to benefit from secure and ef-
A game changer for ficient payment solutions that look to partner with
business owners to level up their business operations.

restaurant margins Take a restaurant with a high turnover as an example. The
amount in savings payment processors provide could be
going to an employee’s wages, utility bills or equipment
upgrades.

Uncontrollable swipe fees and inefficient business op-
erations are the types of obstacles that hinder business
growth, as small businesses are already having to grapple
with rising costs due to inflation, labor and materials.

Transparent pricing: eliminate the element of surprise

For restaurants that need to iron out the kinks affecting
the bottom line, it is essential to have a payment process-
ing solution that puts the business owner first. Fortu-
nately, payment processors across the board are stepping
up to help restaurant owners minimize their expenses by
providing innovative pricing models and cost saving solu-
tions.

One of these solutions is the interchange-plus pricing
By Austin Mac Nab model, which is split into two parts, the interchange fee
VizyPay and the processor markup. This model can provide trans-
parency by separating the costs of interchange fees and
unning a restaurant is more than just the abil- processor markups for businesses accepting credit cards.
ity to serve up good food; it is the management
of a complex system of overhead to inventory For business owners seeking a more predictable solution,
R and customer retention just to keep the lights flat rate pricing can level the playing field by eliminating
on. The National Restaurant Association estimates that, on the complexities associated with interchange fees by ap-
average, restaurants operate with a profit margin of just 3 plying a fixed fee on each transaction regardless of the
to 5 percent (see https://bit.ly/4kQEryH). transaction method or card type. This is crucial as it adds
a layer of predictability to financial forecasting, as small
These are slim margins by all accounts and highlight the businesses often grapple with a myriad of different ex-
urgency to count costs, especially swipe fees. Those ever- penses.
present transaction fees can add up quicker than tips for
a restaurant’s best server. One overlooked avenue that can The payment processor can also make provisions that iso-
make a major difference is payment processing, a critical late the processing fee and shift the processing costs away.
component that provides the chance to improve efficiency, Dual pricing can give customers a transparent option that
reduce costs and optimize the bottom line. provides incentivized discounts to customers paying by
cash or debit or a slightly higher rate when using credit
Swipe fees hit the margins cards to account for processing costs.

Swipe fees at first glance can feel minuscule; however,
these quickly add up in a sort of snowball effect that is
amplified through restaurants due to high foot traffic and
active points of sale. The fees run between 1.5 percent and For restaurants that need to
3 percent per purchase. Couple that to the already thin
profit margins, and this becomes a pain for restaurateurs. iron out the kinks affecting the
bottom line, it is essential to have
Payment processors play a vital role in achieving op-
erational success for restaurants by improving cash a payment processing solution
flow management and creating a variety of payment that puts the business owner first.
options to meet different consumer requirements. Ev-

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