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Education

Some processors require that a SAQ merchants realize they are not getting the rate they thought they were getting,
be completed every 60 days; others they will lose faith in you and move to someone who can analyze statements
require it every six months. What this honestly.
means is a merchant must know what
the processor's timeline is and fill If you know some of the markups described herein are being added by your
out SAQs in accordance with it. Mer- ISO or processor, meet with them and find a statement format that is much
chants who do not do this are con- clearer. Merchants are getting educated on interchange and how it works.
sidered noncompliant. This is when Chances are increasing they will find out if you are hiding a markup under the
some companies charge merchants section where interchange is being depicted. This could result in loss of those
big fees. We have seen anywhere merchants and your credibility.
from $19.95 to $125.00 a month for be-
ing noncompliant. This fee is charged All sales professionals dread what's-your-rate questions. To properly provide
every month in addition to the regu- quotes to merchants today, perform a statement analysis to see what type of
lar PCI compliance fee until the mer- cards they take, how they are taking the cards and where savings can be found.
chant fills out the questionnaire and Providing merchants statements that are straightforward and transparent is
becomes compliant. most beneficial for them as well as for the longevity of your business.
PIN debit fees Safari Njema!

Some processors are pushing PIN Dee Karawadra is president and CEO of Impact PaySystem, and Emily Karawadra is the company's
debit on their merchants, calling chief financial officer. Since 2001, Impact PaySystem has been a leading provider of payment
it debit optimization. The idea be- processing technologies and services to merchants throughout the United States. Through alli-
hind this is to move traffic from the ances with payments industry leaders such as Chase Paymentech, First Data, Buypass, Sage and
card brands over to the debit rails more, Impact PaySystem offers tailored solutions to meet the unique needs of each merchant.
by prompting for a PIN at the time Dee and Emily will welcome your questions and comments at dee@impactpays.com and
of purchase. Some of the processors emily@impactpays.com, respectively.
have a strategy to push this out to all
merchants on their platform.

The big sell is to reduce the cost of
processing by converting signature-
based transactions to PIN debit trans-
actions. This is enticing to merchants,
as it reduces the risk of chargebacks
if they are running more PIN debit
transaction than signature transac-
tions. The problem is that PIN debt
isn't always a good fit for small-ticket
merchants or high-traffic businesses.

We have seen that not only is PIN
debit being pushed on merchants, but
also the PIN debit interchange is be-
ing marked up. It's not just a transac-
tion fee being billed the interchange-
plus markup and an authorization
fee. I have seen anywhere from .10
percent to 1.75 percent markup. This
is another place where big savings
can be found.
Are your statements transparent?

As an MLS, you need to fully under-
stand the merchant statement format
you are presenting to your merchants.
If you are putting your markup in
some of the areas mentioned above,
be aware that your statements can be
analyzed by competitors, and if your

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