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Healthcare Self-Payment Collections – Reducing Cost of Card Payments
Posted by anandkgoel on 01 Dec 2011 | Tagged as: Analysis, Education, General, Published Articles
We prepared the following analysis before the Durbin amendment became effective on October 1, 2011. We will be updating this analysis in the near future but the general guidelines presented are still very valid.
Reducing your healthcare organization’s cost of processing credit and debit card payments from patients or businesses can be a herculean task because the payments industry is unnecessarily complex and confusing. There are so many industry terms—such as qualification tiers, downgrades, interchange, assessments fee, batch fee, automated clearinghouse fee, authorization fee, settlement fee, address verification service fee, and payment card industry compliance fee—that even a sophisticated healthcare finance leader can get cross-eyed.
Value of Discover & American Express Acquiring/Processing
Posted by anandkgoel on 07 Jul 2011 | Tagged as: Analysis, Education, General, Published Articles
About four years ago, Discover and American Express started updating their business model by letting acquirers add its cards to the payment options they offer to merchants. Traditionally, acquirers or payment processors could only offer Visa and MasterCard processing, and merchants had separate agreements with Discover and AmEx.  Therefore, merchants became accustomed to getting three sets of merchant statements, with three difference customer service phone numbers, and three different funding time frames. Continue Reading»
The Evolution of Convenience Fees
Posted by anandkgoel on 01 Jul 2011 | Tagged as: Analysis, Education, General, Published Articles
In slightly more than a decade convenience fees on credit and debit cards have evolved from application in a specific market to wide adoption across many industries. This article looks at the growth in usage of convenience fees, application within specific verticals, and card network regulations. Continue Reading»
Understanding Fed’s Proposed Rules on Debit Interchange Fees & Routing
Posted by anandkgoel on 07 Jan 2011 | Tagged as: Analysis, Education, General, Published Articles
Merchants finally received a long awaited holiday present last month in the form of proposed rules regulating debit interchange fees. The Federal Reserve proposed new rules on December 16th, 2010, to govern debit interchange fees and network routing. These proposed rules are subject to a 60-day comment period, and the Fed is scheduled to issue a final version by April 21, 2011, with the rules going into effect June 21, 2011. As background, the Federal Reserve was empowered to implement the Durbin Amendment, a provision of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act of 2010 signed into law in July 2010 that regulates debit interchange fees and network routing.
The salient points of the Fed proposed rules that pertain to most merchants along with our analysis are as follows: Continue Reading»
Impact of Credit Card Act on Businesses
Posted by anandkgoel on 06 Jun 2009 | Tagged as: Analysis, Education, General, Published Articles
President Barak Obama signed into law on May 22, 2009, the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility & Disclosure Act. This sweeping legislation has significant implications for consumers, banks, and many businesses who issue gift cards.
Understanding and Managing Your Payments Effective Cost
Posted by anandkgoel on 04 May 2009 | Tagged as: Analysis, Education, General, Published Articles
Pricing in the credit card processing industry is very complex and most merchant statements do not make it any easier to understand. There are so many technical and industry laden terms (Interchange, qualification tiers, downgrades, batch fee, ACH fee, authorization fee, settlement fee, AVS fee, PCI compliance fee, etc.) that even a sophisticated financial manager can get cross-eyed. So how do you really understand your true cost of credit/debit card processing, and then use that knowledge to ensure that your company is getting the best value for merchant services? This article will help you understand and manage the effective cost of different payment cards. Continue Reading»
Comparing Merchant Services Across Wholesale Clubs
Posted by anandkgoel on 17 Nov 2008 | Tagged as: Analysis, Education, General, Published Articles
Wholesale clubs like BJ’s, Costco and Sam’s provide fantastic value when you want to buy in bulk, but how competitive are they when you are looking to buy merchant services for your business? Continue Reading»
How Accepting ATM Cards Can Improve Your Profitability
Posted by anandkgoel on 01 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Analysis, Education, General, Published Articles
The use of ATM or PIN-based debit cards in the U.S. has been rising faster than signature debit cards and credit cards over the past decade. Merchant sales volume for PIN transactions has been growing 21% annually since 2000, slightly ahead of signature debit and significantly ahead of credit cards. And, according to a recent study by Star electronic funds transfer (EFT) network, consumers preferred PIN debit over signature debit, with 54% opting for PIN and 38% for signature. This trend is great for both consumers and merchants. Continue Reading»
