ReformingRetail is continuing with a payments statement obfuscation series. We call it SOS for short, and it’s coincidentally a very appropriate acronym. We aim to publish an article in the series twice per month, but it really depends on the shenanigans that we see in the market. Both the statements and analysis are being provided by Merchant Cost Consulting, an advisory group of payments experts that helps merchants lower their processing rates.
Hello again. In this article we’re looking at the November 2019 changes from both Worldpay and First Data.
First up is Worldpay.
If you look at the bottom line you’ll see a sneaky $199 annual fee. Well, would it surprise you to learn that WorldPay has already issued an annual fee this year? Of course not! You’re three articles in on the SOS series so you know these processors love bogus padding to meet quarterly numbers.
Merchant Cost Consulting says that another reason this double fee could be occurring is because Worldpay recently merged companies with FIS – Fidelity National Information Systems – which is now the parent company. Historically, when payments companies merged they typically see the parent company take all of their new customers and add a monthly or annual fee to make profits look good to shareholders.
So much merchant value though, right?
Next we’ll discuss First Data. Here’s some text on the bottom of a First Data statement.
If a retail business is not accepting all the necessary information when taking a credit card (full card number, CVV code, expiration date, etc.) you could be hit with an unauthorized transaction, which could leave your business more susceptible to chargebacks. To avoid this, make sure to verify customer identity by asking for a photo ID at the point of sale. First Data is starting to add more PCI Non-Compliance fees if you do not enter the correct information when accepting a credit card and this is something you want to avoid.
See you next time here on ye old merchant SOS.
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