News & Resources

One group thinks major payment settlement well-warranted

Oct 26, 2012 Sean Albert

One group thinks major payment settlement well-warranted
Many experts believe that electronic payments, including those through ACH cards and wire transfers, have become popular alongside prepaid cards because of recent legislation affecting swipe fees for traditional debit and credit cards. However, some are concerned that it won't be long before similar fees start to affect new payment methods.
 The Electronic Payments Coalition recently issued a statement regarding objections to interchange fee settlements that affect hundreds of businesses, as well as several payment processors and nine major providers of debit and credit cards. According to the firm, many believed the settlement would hurt merchants in the long-term.  However, the Electronic Payments Coalition felt that the retailers and payment processors who objected to the settlement, which forced card providers to pay damages to retailers, was well managed. Many merchants and payment processors have objected to this settlement, though the arguments are still not clear on either side. Electronic payments provide one method of reducing the cost of payment processing, whether for ACH payroll deposits or accepting transactions from consumers through mobile and online platforms. Many businesses that have adopted these systems have experienced several benefits as a result.