Accepting (B2B) Business-2-Business and (B2G) Business-2-Government credit cards is not as expensive as you may have been led to believe, IF you include Level 3 Line item detail.
Level 3 processing can effectively add 1% and more to your bottom line on your existing sales volume, regardless of your current rate or processor.
Let me explain:
The bulk of the fees a business pays to accept credit cards goes back to the bank that issued the credit card, Not processors. This is referred to as “interchange” and can amount to 75%-90% of the total fees a business pays to accept credit cards.
Believe it or not Visa, MasterCard nor your processor earn any revenue whatsoever from interchange.
Visa and MasterCard created special interchange rates to encourage businesses to include level 3 line item detail on B2B & B2G transactions. These special rates can reduce interchange by as much as 30%-40%.
How Does Level-3 Processing work?
Commercial and Government transactions fall into 1 of 3 interchange categories. Level-1, Level-2 & Level-3. The higher the interchange level the lower the rate.
Level-2 and Level-3 processing reclassifies interchange codes on B2B & B2G transactions allowing you to capture about 1% of “Interchange” revenue you cannot get from your processor lowering your rate.
Its unfortunate that most business owners have been conditioned by sales people who rarely do more than sell on rate and completely overlook Level 3 processing and its benefits. Especially being that 75%-90% of a businesses fees for accept credit cards goes back to the bank that issued the card.
This is evident in the many people I speak with on a daily basis, “no we just had our rates reviewed” , “we have a great rate”, “we are with our bank” “send me your information so I can compare to my current rates”, the list goes on.
Most merchants are oblivious to the fact that it doesn’t matter what rate or processor they have. Accepting B2B, commercial and government cards without including level 3 detail, your losing about 1% of potential revenue that has Nothing to do with processors!
If you have questions about level 3 processing or curious to see how this would impact your bottom line, dont hesitate to give us a call. 888 790 3450
No Obligation, just good information that will help empower your business.