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Member Benefit News Keeping Costs Down: How can I save money on my credit card transactions? Retail businesses can keep transaction costs to a minimum by taking steps to ensure they process "qualified" transactions. The "qualified rate" is the cheapest category of Interchange and it applies to a transaction in which the merchant physically swipes the bankcard through the terminal and receives authorization for the transaction. The transaction can be authorized only once and the authorized transaction amount must match the "settled" (deposit) transaction amount. In addition, for a transaction to be charged the "qualified rate" the merchant must settle the transaction (electronically transmit the transaction for payment by the issuing bank) within 24 hours. What about controlling card costs for non-retail businesses? Interchange costs are higher for non-retail businesses where the purchases are made with the customer not present, but you can keep the costs to a minimum by "batching" or depositing in a timely manner and providing any additional information required by Visa and MasterCard on each of your transactions. Required transaction data will vary based upon business type and processing environment but can include zip code, sales tax, and customer code. This information is brought to you by Elavon. Feel free to call Kimberly Layton with any questions or for more information on the credit card processing program at 1-866-638-8614. Reprinted from Central Vac Professional, December 2009 |