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CMSPI – IAC State of the Industry Report
CMSPI – IAC State of the Industry Report
Glossary Processes
Section 5.6.3 – Surcharging Surcharging is used by many merchants in jurisdictions where it is legal (around 20% of U.S. merchants stated they practiced it), but the practice isn’t without its drawbacks. 351 While it offers potential cost recovery, it can adversely impact customer sentiment. 71% of business customers have expressed a preference for avoiding companies that charge a card surcharge so a business’s decision to surcharge can be the deciding factor between a sale and a customer seeking competing alternatives. 352 Additionally, navigating compliance becomes complex, as surcharging is often only legal or tolerated by network rules under certain conditions. Ultimately, surcharging does help realign the cost burden of payments between merchants and consumers, but it does not solve the fundamental issues with the payments industry outlined in Section 1. Section 5.7 – Conclusion As we saw in Section 4, the payment mix is less concentrated in regions with either government mandates (for example, Brazil) or attractive card alternatives (for example, China’s digital wallets). In most other geographies, card dominance creates an environment ripe for increased productivity and efficiency via regulation. In Section 5, we’ve looked at the implementation and effectiveness of interchange caps, co-badging and surcharging in four jurisdictions (the U.S., the European Union, Australia and Japan). Overall, it appears that a combination of these three interventions (such as those used in Australia) may prove the most effective. Regardless of the approach used, policymakers should be mindful of workarounds. For example, we have seen higher network fees following interchange caps and limited industry implementation of co-badging.
Term
Description
Authorization
When a charge is initiated When and how funds are held
Capture Approval
When an issuer approves a transaction authorization request When funds post to – are deposited into –a receiver’s bank account ACS costs are the allowable issuer costs within the Reg II debit card cap. ACS cost data is collected by the Fed and published via a bi-annual survey: Federal Reserve Board - Regulation II - Reports and Data Collections. When the customer authorizes the payment via a live action. This could also be referred to as a Push payment. When a merchant initiates a payment per previous instructions form the customer (i.e. recurring subscription payments). This could also be referred to as a Pull payment.
Settlement
Authorization, Clearing and Settlement (ACS)
Customer-Initiated Transaction (CIT)
Merchant-Initiated Transaction (MIT)
351 https://www.clearlypayments.com/blog/charging-customers-for-using-a-credit-card-surcharging/#:~:text=In%20 recent%20years%2C%20approximately%2020,customer%20sentiment%20regarding%20such%20fees. 352 https://www.clearlypayments.com/blog/charging-customers-for-using-a-credit-card-surcharging/#:~:text=In%20 recent%20years%2C%20approximately%2020,customer%20sentiment%20regarding%20such%20fees
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