We frequently address questions from merchants currently using the Costco Wholesale Merchant Processing. Costco’s merchant partner is Evalon, formerly Nova Information Systems.

Eariier this year, some Costco member merchant rates were increased, though on the surface it looked like a decrease. It really depends on your business whether you’d be better off or not. In most cases, businesses will pay more.

COSTCO PUBLISHED MERCHANT RATES, April 2010.

Visa/MasterCard Qualified (Traditional Credit & Signature Debit) 1.48% plus $0.20 (reduced)
Visa/MasterCard Qualified Rewards 2.20% plus $0.20 (increased)
Visa/MasterCard Partially Qualified 2.96% plus $0.33
Commercial Non-Qualified 2.96% plus $0.33
MasterCard Non-Qualified 3.80% plus $0.33
Pin-Debit Transaction Fee $0.12

Previous blog readers know these numbers above are pretty meaningless for comparing merchant rates. What really matters is your effective rate. You get the qualified rate when the customer uses their check card and signs for it instead of entering the pin number. Debit card usage is definitely on the rise so the lower rate is a good thing. But how many of your transactions will qualify for the qualified rate vs the other rates? Reference this article for a more important number to use when comparing rate plans.
how to calculate credit card processing effective rate
In addition to the above fees, processors are passing along  .30% or .40% international fees launched in 2009 by Visa and MasterCard, also called cross border service fees. These are fees for foreign issued cards. There’s no way out of this one. Everyone pays it. Since no one knows how many foreign cards you’ll be presented with, it’s usually an extra line item on your merchant statement. I’d be vary wary of any deal that did not separate out these fees.

Based on the April rate changes, I’m staying neutral on processing up to $100,000 annually via the Costco membership plan. Anything over that, I’d look at other options.

Effective April 17, 2009, MasterCard will assess a Network Access and Brand Usage Fee (NABU) of $.0185 for all U.S. issued transactions settled with MasterCard.

These costs are certain to be passed along to all merchants.  All merchant agreements include language to pass along costs to merchants from Visa, MasterCard, and more recently, Discover.

Merchants will likely see these costs in their June statements. If you are on “pass through interchange” pricing, the costs will be a line item, without mark up. If you are any other type of price plan, the costs may be hidden within other costs, or they may be a separate line item, depending on your overall price plan.  The costs may be passed through as is, or part of a broader cost increase for your fees.

The MasterCard NABU fee comes at the same time of annual Visa and MasterCard interchange updates, and therefore will be included with other fee changes customers will experience in their May or June merchant statements.

How many people do you think click on the ad “1% Credit Card Processing”? It offers FREE Equipment, Same Day Approvals & 24/7 Support. When you click through, you land on a web page that offers no explanation as to how you’ll get 1% Credit Card Processing.

If you believe you can get these rates, then you need to learn a lot more about how merchant rates for Visa & MasterCard are determined, and we have plenty of that information this blog. 1% would be below cost for most merchant transactions, assuming this is not a PIN DEBIT transaction. They advertiser doesn’t even bother to explain how you can get that 1% rate. In fact, it’s not mentioned anywhere on their web site. It’s just a gimmick to get you to click through.

Do you want your credit card processing with a company that tricks you to visit their web site? Merchant processing fees are complex enough without having to sift through deceptive advertising practices.