February 29th, 2012 by Jamie Estep
You’ll love Visa’s new FANF fee, thanks Con….s…
Filed in: Industry News, Merchant Accounts | 3 comments
I’ll avoid stating why I think they’re doing this, cough… Durbin… cough, cough…., but starting in April 2012, Visa has added a new charge to all merchant accounts. These additional fees are fixed per month, and are based on a merchant’s business type and the number of location or volume they process.
In the mix, Visa is lowering their network acquirer processor fee from $0.0195 to $0.0155 per authorization. They are also adding a $.10 fee to some debit transactions that don’t meet certain processing criteria.
However, all businesses can expect to see the following changes.
| Card present (non high-volume MCC’s) | |
|---|---|
| # of locations | $ per location per month |
| 1 | $2.00 |
| 2 | $2.00 |
| 3 | $2.00 |
| 4 | $2.90 |
| 5 | $2.90 |
| 6 – 10 | $2.90 |
| 11 – 20 | $4.00 |
| 21 – 50 | $4.00 |
| 51 – 100 | $6.00 |
| 101 – 150 | $8.00 |
| 151 – 200 | $10.00 |
| 201 – 250 | $14.00 |
| 251 – 500 | $24.00 |
| 501 – 1000 | $32.00 |
| 1001 – 1500 | $40.00 |
| 1501 – 2000 | $50.00 |
| 2001 – 4000 | $60.00 |
| > 4000 | $65.00 |
| Card not present, Fast food, and Aggregators | |
|---|---|
| Monthly Sales Volume | $ per month |
| < $50 | $2.00 |
| $50 – $199 | $2.90 |
| $200 – $999 | $5.00 |
| $1,000 – $3,999 | $7.00 |
| $4,000 – $7,999 | $9.00 |
| $8,000 – $39,999 | $15.00 |
| $40,000 – $199,999 | $45.00 |
| $200,000 – $799,999 | $120.00 |
| $800,000 – $1,999,999 | $350.00 |
| $2,000,000 – $3,999,999 | $700.00 |
| $4,000,000 – $7,999,999 | $1,500.00 |
| $8,000,000 – $19,999,999 | #3,500.00 |
| $20,000,000 – $39,999,999 | $7,000.00 |
| $40,000,000 – $79,999,999 | $15,000.00 |
| $80,000,000 – $399,999,999 | $30,000.00 |
| > $400,000,000 | $40,000.00 |
For some businesses this may result in reduced fees but it’s likely that many businesses will see an increase in their monthly bill as a result of the FANF fee. MasterCard will be introducing new and similar fees as well starting in July. Stay tuned to see what those turn out to be.
I hate to say I told you so, but once again the Walmart’s and super retailers got their wish and the rest of the businesses out there end up with a higher cost. It’s unfortunate that organizations like the NRF don’t have the foresight to stop lobbying for super retailers at the expense of the businesses they supposedly represent. Thus far, the Walmart lawsuit a few years ago and the Durbin debit regulation have drastically increased the complexity and the costs to most merchants in the US.
Thanks for posting this. It happens all too often that small business owners get taken advantage of by these credit card companies. That is why it is always extremely important to make sure you go over everything with a fine tooth comb! Sometimes, depending on your situation, it may even be wise to look into opening an off shore merchant account. Either way, doing a little research before hand usually always pays off in the end, literally.
Just remember this isn’t the processing companies that are tagging this fee on. It is a Visa/MasterCard fee. I would love to not give my clients this fee, but Visa/MasterCard is dictating this and the card issuers (big banks) are incorporating this fee.
I can’t stand any government involvement, but how are they not stepping in on this one. This is purely to recover Durbin losses.