{"id":6237,"date":"2020-01-09T06:24:23","date_gmt":"2020-01-09T12:24:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reformingretail.com\/?p=6237"},"modified":"2020-01-09T06:24:31","modified_gmt":"2020-01-09T12:24:31","slug":"introducing-reformingretails-payment-statement-obfuscation-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reformingretail.com\/index.php\/2020\/01\/09\/introducing-reformingretails-payment-statement-obfuscation-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing ReformingRetail’s Payment Statement Obfuscation Series"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ReformingRetail is starting a payments statement obfuscation series. We\u2019ll call it SOS for short, and it\u2019s coincidentally a very appropriate acronym. We\u2019re aiming 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 in this article are being provided by <\/em>Merchant Cost Consulting<\/em><\/a>, an advisory group of payments experts that helps merchants lower their processing rates.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First up we got some TSYS changes for November of 2019. Here\u2019s the evidence:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here\u2019s the text you need to be looking for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Effective January 1, 2020 rates will be increased by 25 basis points (0.25%) on all gross card brand processing volume.  This message shall serve to amend the terms of your merchant processing agreement pursuant to the terms thereof. If you object to these fees, you may terminate your agreement without penalty by providing written notice in accordance with your agreement within 30 days of the date of the invoice containing this fee.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t appear this language is affecting all TSYS merchants, but you should definitely check your statements. If you are currently on Interchange Plus Pricing, TSYS\/Cayan will be adding 0.25% on top of your current rates that you have now. For what value you ask? Well we\u2019re asking that too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can contact TSYS\/Cayan within 30 days after this rate increase notice and cancel your merchant account without penalty. However, some merchant accounts with TSYS\/Cayan may have an Early Termination Fee or Cancellation Fee (what we in the industry often call an ETF<\/a>) that can range anywhere from $200 – $500. This notice would appear to give you an out of the ETF if you wanted to move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next up TSYS has thrown in a $139 Compliance Service Package. What value does this bring? Uhhhhh. What does it mean? You\u2019re out $139.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If this is you make sure you\u2019re reaching out to TSYS in order to receive a refund for this fee. Merchant Cost Consultants says that this fee is just another way for processors to hit their quarterly goals for shareholders. This fee can be refunded if you contact TSYS\/Cayan and request a refund as they have already put out annual fees this year of 2019. Make sure to push back if they tell you they cannot as it is what their customer service representatives are trained to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, starting Dec 1, 2019 the clause in your original merchant agreement is being removed and replaced with the below message. The new clause states that the card brand fees (fees passed through to a merchant from the card networks – Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express) are changing and that you agree to the changes being made. Note the language here as well,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c…as adjusted or allocated by TSYS\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This gives TSYS more flexibility to pad any of these fees in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We hope this was helpful. Our next SOS article will deal with the changes we\u2019ve seen from Global Payments.
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