“We are the 4th largest processor in the nation! Our network processes more transactions than any other network!!”
These things may or may not be true, but the question is, do you care? Maybe you care about the implied benefits that may come with such things – large scale pricing, stability, trust?
In a perfect market all these things would make sense. We have to remember, merchant services is not only an imperfect market, but one marked with smoke and mirrors. In truth, we find larger companies leverage their brand name to in fact give higher rates. Often offering complicated rate structures that business owners do not understand, or introductory rates which will be raised later (while you are still within contract). We see this consistently with big box banks and large merchant acquiring associations.
Take a close look to the image on the left. This is an ad by one of the “big guys” of the industry. This would be a typical ad by a large bank of acquirer.
A rate of 1.48% is advertised, but if you read the asterisk and fine print, this is only the cost for cards that “qualify.” How what cards qualify? How do the qualify? What is the cost of cards that do not qualify? None of these details are specified.
Take a close look to the image on the left. This is an ad by one of the “big guys” of the industry. This would be a typical ad by a large bank of acquirer.
A rate of 1.48% is advertised, but if you read the asterisk and fine print, this is only the cost for cards that “qualify.” How what cards qualify? How do the qualify? What is the cost of cards that do not qualify? None of these details are specified.
