I have been deeply involved in bank eftpos bank rates for a few weeks, talking to several banks and getting deeply into the deals they offer to retailers. Every day has been a discovery of something new about the intricacies of bank charges, where money is made and by whom in the fees levied against retailers for processing credit and debit cards.
This space is changing rapidly. Some banks are introducing new fees based on the type of card being presented by the consumer for a transaction. One sale could have a debit card fee for the newsagent of .7% and the next could have a fee of 1.5% or more.
It does not make sense to me that the retailer carries the cost of the more expensive cards. If banks want to chase these customers they ought to carry the risk. While they will say they carry the risk already, it’s not enough if I as the retailer have to cop a 100% penalty on the card fee.
The agreement reached with St George Bank / Bank SA means a common fee regardless of the card used.