Merchant Account Blog & Credit Card Processing Blog

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Mastercard Grows Business On The Debit Side

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MasterCard Inc (MA), the world’s second-largest credit-card network, will launch a debit card with U.S. regional bank KeyBank on Wednesday, in MasterCard’s latest bid to tap demand for payment systems that do not involve borrowing.

“Debit remains a priority for us,” Patricia Preston, senior vice president of U.S. debit product management and development of MasterCard Worldwide, told Reuters in an interview.

The World Debit MasterCard will offer rewards, discounts, and savings in an effort to attract customers.

Cleveland-based KeyBank, a unit of KeyCorp (KEY), will be the first of many partners the credit card network expects to adopt the new debit card.

KeyBank plans to issue 25,000 of the cards by the end of March, and 60,000 by the end of the first year, said Carl Stauffeneger, senior consumer product manager of KeyBank.

He added the bank, with almost 1,000 branches in 14 states, was targeting clients with an annual debit spend of around $7,500.

MasterCard said it expected to promote the new debit card in the United States before exporting it to other countries, but declined to give further details.

The company prospered in recent years as fast-spending consumers used their credit cards more. But with many Americans trying to curb their borrowing, the use of debit cards is likely to increase as consumers stick to stricter budgets.

In the United States, credit transactions represent 60 percent of the gross dollar volume of MasterCard, while debit cards make up the rest. But debit cards volume grew 13 percent last year in the United States, while credit cards shrank 2 percent.

In contrast, rival Visa has a bigger presence in the debit business in the United States, with 53 percent of Visa’s total volume in debit cards, and 47 percent in credit cards.

MasterCard has 126 million debit cards in use in the United States, while Visa has 314 million debit cards.

(Reporting by Juan Lagorio, editing by Matthew Lewis)

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Gas Station Owners - Save Money At The Pumps

Gas station owners should be feeling the lower cost of pay at the pump transactions, with the decrease in interchange cost passed on by Visa last fall. Visa lowered the interchange pass-through at the hieght of the gas crisis last fall. This savings at pay at pumps stations was hoped to be passed on to the consumer.

We are finding that many gas staion owners who are not on a Interchange Plus plan with their merchant account provider, have not seen any savings. These merchant’s are on a Teired Rate plan and the savings is being lost to their merchant account provider.

Owners should look to switch their gas station merchant account to an Interchange Plus merchant account to maximize overall savings on cost. With many business travelers utilizing the pay at pumps, the savings could be signifigant. The higher your sales volume, the higher the savings.

For more information on saving money on credit card processing, please feel free to give me a call to discuss your options.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Obama Nationalizing US Bank Fears Investors

Wall Street is getting hammered today with bank stocks leading the way south. Industry giants like Bank America ( BA ) and Citi Bank ( C ) are trading like “Penny Stock’s”. Fears over President Obama’s plans for both the Banking Industry and the Real Estate Market are whewing on investors hopes for any kind of recovery. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner needs to take some action to claim the market. 

Market levels have broken levels set back in 1997 with the S&P Index approaching a dangerous level, set back in November. Rumors that the Obama Administration may loosen “Mark-To-Market” accounting rules over the weekend, may cause a major turnaround on Monday, but no one seems to be betting on this President nor his cabinet at the moment.

Ken Lewis, President of Bank Of America stated again this afternoon that, “Nationalization” of Bank of America makes absolutely “No Sense” !!!! This is echoed by the price-action on Wall Street today, screaming to President Obama, this would be a mistake.

All eyes will be on the Obama Administration over the weekend.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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CNBC’S RICK SANTELLI SENDS OBAMA A MESSAGE

Rick Santelli of CNBC Fame made it clear to the country where people stand on the Obama Housing Rescue Plan this morning on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, in Chicago.

Opponents of the plan fear that President Obama is “Ni Eve” and “In-Experienced” in thinking that cramming our grandchildren with debt to rescue over-extended homeowners is good for this country.

Where is the sanity ?????? 

Obama Will Destroy The Banking System With This Plan !!!!! 

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Merchant Account For High Monthly Volume Business

Good news for businesses having a problem getting a single merchant account to process their high volume credit card charges. We are rolling out our “High Volume Merchant Account“, for merchants processing high monthly volumes on their credit card processing. Merchants currently processing with multiple accounts, can now shift them in a single, low rate, merchant account.

The problem, many high volume businesses are forced to open multiple accounts, as many processors “Cap” their risk, at a certain dollar amount. This forces the business owner to spread out their credit card processing with several banks. This is a bookkeeping night mire and forces owners to monitor credit card sales volumes on a daily basis.

We now offer these merchant’s a solution with our High Volume Merchant Account. If you have a solid credit card processing history, a fairly good credit rating, and monthly statements to prove it, we can offer you a single source for all of your credit card processing needs. We will even compete with the lowest rate possible for your situation. You may even qualify for our Interchange Plus Pricing, which will save you on downgraded transactions which fall under Non-Qualified Transactions.

If you are currently processing credit cards, but having issues about your volume, please feel free to give me a call to discuss a solution.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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CHARGE BY PHONE - Accept Credit Cards Anywhere !!!!!!!!!!!!

Found a great website dedicated to providing low volume merchants the ability to accept credit cards by phone. Great choice for mobile merchants accepting credit cards on the run. You can process virtually anywhere a phone is available. No expensive credit card processing equipment to purchase or maintain.

Accept Credit Cards By Phone:

Company offers liberal underwriting, approving most businesses with 24 Hours. Merchant account rates seem to be one of the industrties lowest for this type of account. Accept credit cards virtually anywhere a telephone is available. Great choice for Plumbers, Tradeshows, Flea Markets, Pizza Delivery, just to name a few. Call today or apply online.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Obama Administration Will Unveil Bank Rescue Plan On Tuesday

All eyes will be on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and the Obama Administration on Tuesday. At 2:30PM EST the Treasury Secretary will unveil the new “Bank Rescue Plan”, a proposal that is geared to save the banking industry from further collapse. The plan was scheduled to be release today, but was delayed until Tuesday, as the legislature ”Failed”  to pass the “Obama Stimulous Plan” over the weekend.

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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Bank of America Takes A Wild Ride On Wall Street

Bank of America ( BAC ), took a wild ride on Wall Street this morning. Stock broke the $5 share price yesterday afternoon, on wild rumors that the bank would be “Nationalized” under the Obama “Bad Bank” plan. Shares took a further drive yesterday after President Obama announced plans to limit exectutive pay, under the “New Tarp Program” which would remove any incentive for a Quaified CEO to stick around.

This morning, shares got pounded down to $3.77, their lowest level since 1985. Late morning shares began to rally based on another rumor that the Obama Administration ( Tim Giethner ) was considering changing “Mark-To-Market” accounting rules to help the banks increase their balance sheets.

By the end of the day share prices had rallied back, closing at $4.80 and trading afterhours at $5.10.

Wild Ride !!!!!!!

DIGG THIS STORY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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VISA Reports Earnings After The Bell !!!!!!!!

Visa ( V ) reported strong numbers after the bell, sending shares higher in after-hours trading. Visa beat the street expectations posting an adjusted $0.78 earnings per share. Company more importantly reported a 12% Growth In Transaction Volume, over last year.

“We are very pleased with our fiscal first quarter earnings results and our ability to deliver strong operating performance,” said Joseph Saunders, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Despite the increasingly challenging economy, processed transaction growth, the strength of debit, and the global diversity of our business continue to highlight the resilience of our business model.”

Keep in mind that Visa is not a lender, nor a bank. They make a “Percentage” on the transaction volume.

Shares are soaring at the moment, trading up in “After-Hours” trading.

DIGG THIS STORY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Cardholder Fees On Foreign Transactions !!!!

Planning a vacation out-side of the United States ??? Planning a large ecommerce purchase from a foreign country ???? Well be prepared to pay a “International Transaction Fee” if you are using your credit card. These fees are charged by issuing-banks to cardholders who make purchases outside of the United States and may include US Territories, such as the Virgin Islands or St. Thomas.

Keep in mind that the fee is based on US Dollar Amount of your purchase, ie.. if you make a purchase in Europe at $100 Euros, your fee is based on $125 US Dollars after the currency conversion. With the current value of the dollar being at historic lows, you may want to take this into consideration when planning major overseas purchases.

Fees may vary between different issuing banks, with Capitol One claiming they do not charge any fee on foreign credit card transactions. Here is a list of popular issuing banks published at CardRatings.Com, with their current fees for international purchases:

A January 2009 survey of credit card issuers revealed the following foreign transaction fees:

• American Express - 2.7%
• Bank of America - 3%
• Chase - 3%
• Citi Bank - 3%
• HSBC - 3%
• Washington Mutual - 1%
• Wells Fargo - 3%
• Capital One - No Foreign Transaction Fee !!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Discover- No fees. Accepted in China, the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico and certain parts of Europe. Note: Discover is adding a 2% fee on May 1, 2009.

CARDHOLDER’S BEWARE:

We hope this saves you a huge surprise when receiving that credit card statement after making that large foreign purchase. Reading that fine-print in a cardholder agreement is never easy, but knowing the facts can keep you from falling into a trap.

Buy American !!!!

DIGG THIS STORY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MARK SANDS
1st National Processing
http://www.usa-merchantaccount.com
1-866 828-8683

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