Americans spend $50 Billion on Credit Card Processing Fees every year!
PIN Debit Card issued by Unknown Bank
This PIN-Debit card uses a different network than a standard credit card.
It has a high per-item fee, but the merchant does not pay for Interchange.
When you use this Credit Card, the merchant pays a fee to process the transaction
Different fees apply in different scenarios. Here are some examples:
A pack of gum at a convenience store: $1.50
Credit Card Fees: $0.43
(28.8%)
Percent: 0.750%
Per-Item: $0.42
The average convenience store paid $52,064 last year in credit card processing fees (details) - 2.25 times the average earnings of such a store.
More Info
Interchange Category: Pin Entry Debit
| Breakdown of Fees |
| Issuing Bank: | $0.18 |
| Processing Company: | $0.25 |
A small convenience store is likely to have a lot of very small transactions. When you use this
credit card to buy a pack of gum, the purchase often qualifies as a "convenience purchase" transaction.
These transactions are charged with much lower per-item processing fees.
However, for this credit card, the store would still pay the normal $0.42
per transaction, with a 0.750% percentage-based fee.
Purchases like these using this credit card can be very costly to small merchants, because the
per-item fee consumes a larger portion of their profits on the sale.
Jill's Sandwich Shop: $7.00
Credit Card Fees: $0.42
(6.0%)
Percent: 0.750%
Per-Item: $0.37
A typical sandwich shop like a Jimmy Johns pays about $10,000 each year in credit card processing fees (details) - enough to pay a sandwichmaker for 4 months!
More Info
Interchange Category: Pin Entry Debit
| Breakdown of Fees |
| Issuing Bank: | $0.22 |
| Processing Company: | $0.20 |
Using your card to buy a sandwich at a restaurant will trigger an Interchange
fee rate of 0.750%,
with a per-item fee of $0.17. This rate is lower than the Standard
credit card rate, because restaurant businesses that swipe the customer's card can qualify
for a better rate.
For small transactions like this, the total $0.37
per-item fee is often more costly to the merchant than the percentage-based fee.
SuperCheese Pizza Delivery: $25.00
Credit Card Fees: N/A
Some Debit Cards function as a normal credit card in addition to allowing you to enter your PIN.
This card appears to be a PIN-debit (or ATM) card only, so it would not be possible to use this card
for this transaction.
Tank of Gasoline at a fueling station: $30.00
Credit Card Fees: $0.50
(1.7%)
Percent: 0.750%
Per-Item: $0.27
The average gas station paid $52,064 last year in credit card processing fees (details) - 2.25 times the average earnings of such a store.
More Info
Interchange Category: Pin Entry Debit
| Breakdown of Fees |
| Issuing Bank: | $0.40 |
| Processing Company: | $0.10 |
Per-item processing fees are lower for transactions at automated fueling stations, because of
the large volume of transactions at service station relative to the transaction size.
A typical per-item fee when you swipe your card at a fueling station would be $0.27.
However, gas stations also pay approximately 0.750% in
percentage-based fees.
Books at Bookseller.com: $50.00
Credit Card Fees: N/A
Some Debit Cards function as a normal credit card in addition to allowing you to enter your PIN.
This card appears to be a PIN-debit (or ATM) card only, so it would not be possible to use this card
for this transaction.
Groceries at your local Jewel/Osco: $100.00
Credit Card Fees: $0.97
(1.0%)
Percent: 0.750%
Per-Item: $0.22
If everyone used your Credit Card, an average grocery store (with $14M in revenue) might pay $135,800 in fees each year!
More Info
Interchange Category: Pin Entry Debit
| Breakdown of Fees |
| Issuing Bank: | $0.92 |
| Processing Company: | $0.05 |
Large Grocery chains are able to negotiate lower rates for their Credit Card Processing.
In addition, very large grocery stores qualify for "tiered pricing", in which they receive
discounted rates if the total transaction volume exceeds a certain threshold. Thus, the
percentage-based fee that a supermarket chain, like Jewel/Osco, might pay is approximately
0.750%.
Electricity Bill over the phone: $150.00
Credit Card Fees: N/A
Some Debit Cards function as a normal credit card in addition to allowing you to enter your PIN.
This card appears to be a PIN-debit (or ATM) card only, so it would not be possible to use this card
for this transaction.
Flight to California on BlueSky.com: $300.00
Credit Card Fees: N/A
Some Debit Cards function as a normal credit card in addition to allowing you to enter your PIN.
This card appears to be a PIN-debit (or ATM) card only, so it would not be possible to use this card
for this transaction.
Flatscreen TV at Electronics Depot: $800.00
Credit Card Fees: $6.18
(0.8%)
Percent: 0.750%
Per-Item: $0.18
If everyone used your Credit Card, Best Buy might pay $309,177,675 in fees each year!
More Info
Interchange Category: Pin Entry Debit
| Breakdown of Fees |
| Issuing Bank: | $6.17 |
| Processing Company: | $0.01 |
Retail stores such as BestBuy get lowered Interchange
rates, as long as they swipe your credit card in-person.
Typical total rates for a large purchase such as a new HD TV would be 0.750%.
For large purchases like this, the per-item fee is much less significant to the merchant than the percentage-based fee.
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