By Scott Orr
Scott Hartman was seated at the computer in his central Pennsylvania office last summer shaking his head with equal measures of skepticism and bemusement at the absurdity of the e-mail he was reading.
In what was being billed as a grand gesture of consumer solidarity and pity, credit card colossus Visa had just announced it was rolling back the fees it charges on gasoline transactions at Hartman’s 50 convenience stores and thousands of other locations across the country. In this, Visa claimed, it was doing its part to ease the strain that $4-a-gallon gasoline prices was inflicting on Americans’ wallets.
But if Visa’s mid-summer gambit was received by retailers as a bad joke, then it is even less funny now. Six months after the announcement, Visa’s “exceptional response” to spiking gasoline prices has missed its stated goal of saving consumers money. In fact, with gasoline prices at their lowest point in years, the results have been quite the opposite.
“This whole thing was not about saving consumers money in the first place. It was always about public relations. Now that it’s clearly costing consumers money, Visa is not about to change a thing,” said Hartman, the CEO of York, Pennsylvania-based Rutter’s Farm Stores.
If Visa’s new rate structure was going to save consumers and retailers anything — and there was debate on that point from the outset — noticeable savings would have come only on the biggest purchases, those approaching $100. Now that gas prices have returned from the stratosphere, such costly transactions are rare.
Here’s how the Visa rate changes work. You do the math.
Under its old rates, Visa charged 1.65 percent plus 10 cents on a typical charged transaction. Under the new calculus, the percentage fee dropped to 1.15 percent, but the transaction fee rose to 25 cents.
In July, when gas prices peaked at $4.11 a gallon, the new rates would have saved retailers just over a nickel on a $41.10, 10-gallon transaction. But with gas prices at $1.82 per gallon at the beginning of December, the lower percentage fee is less significant and the increased per transaction fee looms larger, so that same 10-gallon purchase would now cost retailers nearly 6 cents more than it would have last spring.
While Visa declined to make a spokesperson available for an interview, the company did issue a statement in response to an inquiry from NACS Magazine.
“Visa monitors and adjusts interchange rates to ensure the economics and value of transactions are balanced for all parties that participate in the Visa network. Visa’s current interchange rates are posted on Visa.com,” the statement said, without indicating if the decline in fuel prices might prompt a revisiting of the interchange rates.
Jeff Lenard, vice president of communications at NACS, said Visa’s June announcement came when gas prices were at their highest point ever, but the new rates did not take effect until October, by which time prices had followed historical precedents and declined.
“I can’t say that [Visa] had a crystal ball that helped predict the prices we have today, but it announced its revised rates at peak prices knowing the new rates would benefit the company if prices dropped. I don’t think anyone would have predicted the prices we have today, but historically after prices peak they decline and often sharply,” Lenard said.
“Either way, [Visa’s] argument still falls flat. It is using what I see as more public relations ploys to distract legislators and the public from looking at the real issue, which is: Why are interchange fees set in a vacuum without retailer participation?” he added.
Lenard went on to say that Visa’s “summer drive season” strategy could help prod Congress toward legislation that would require credit card companies to allow retailers input into the process of setting interchange fees.
“I think we’re going to be looking at a new Congress that’s more receptive to the issue. Visa’s new fee structure might help our cause because it makes it clear that they can’t be trusted to do what’s in the best interest of the general public. They’re going to do what’s in their own best interest,” he said.
Visa announced in June, amid widespread public fear and anger over the spiraling price of gasoline, that it was instituting processing and rate changes “that will result in benefits for American consumers and fuel merchants frustrated by rising prices at the pump.”
“And by lowering our rates, we hope to see oil companies pass along these savings to their stations and ultimately to consumers,” said Bill Sheedy, global head of corporate strategy and business development for the credit card giant.
Retailers and their advocates quickly dismissed the announcement as a “public relations stunt” aimed more at generating positive press than at helping cash-strapped retailers and consumers. If there was any “news” in the announcement, it was that Visa was publicly acknowledging for the first time that interchange fees were a significant factor in the cost of gasoline and, by extension, all products and services.
Like many retailers, Hartman sees no reason to be optimistic that the interchange landscape will change any time soon, not as long as credit card companies control the fee structure unilaterally. Companies like Visa, quite literally, hold all the cards, he said.
“They clearly have complete control right now over all pricing in the industry when it comes to credit card fees. So until Congress or the courts are able to do something, we’re stuck with that. They’re just going to use that power to their benefit,” Hartman said. “I don’t foresee them making any changes now that prices are down. When prices go back up, they will continue to serve their interests without regard for retailers or consumers,” he said.
Interchange fees have long been a hidden drain on consumers’ pocketbooks and retailers’ bottom lines. Hurt most are the small businesses that make up the majority of the nation’s 146,000 convenience stores. In 2006, convenience stores for the first time made less money — $4.8 billion — than they paid credit card firms for processing transactions — $6.6 billion. The situation worsened in 2007 when the industry reported profits of only $3.4 billion and credit card fees of $7.6 billion.
The significance of this has not been lost on members of Congress, where legislation could give retailers the power to negotiate credit card fees. The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee last year and was expected to be reintroduced when the new Congress convened in January.
Noting that the average U.S. household pays almost $300 per year in interchange fees, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) said the bill will lower costs for both retailers and consumers.
The popularity of the legislation goes well beyond Capitol Hill. According to a poll conducted last summer by the Merchants Payments Coalition, 77 percent of Americans support the measure.
“I approached this issue with an open mind at the last hearing but said that the credit card companies needed to convince Congress that increasing interchange fees are not harming merchants and consumers. We introduced this bill because the credit card companies have not yet met this burden,” Conyers said.
One solution, of course, is for retailers to quit accepting credit cards altogether, an idea that might not be as absurd as it sounds at first blush. Last summer, beleaguered retailer Roger Randolph of St. Albans, West Virginia, banned credit cards from his store and was rewarded by customers who previously had been unaware of the toll that interchange fees take on small businesses.
While tending to customers at his station outside Charleston, Randolph said the unusual step of banning plastic didn’t hurt his business and, in fact, enhanced his relationship with customers, who themselves feel the pinch of credit card fees every day.
“Our regular customers said they didn’t realize how much these fees were hurting us and they were happy to pay in cash. I got phone calls from all over the country from people saying ‘Hey, I like what you’re doing and I’m going to stop using my credit cards at my local retailer,’” he said.
Scott Orr is a freelance writer based in Washington, D.C.
The Merchants Payments Coalition needs your help to speak out about interchange fees. You can help spread the word to your fellow retailers. Encourage them to participate in the campaign against unfair credit card fees. Ask them to join us in speaking out about hidden fees in their home states. Write letters to the editor. Make sure your lawmakers and local media know the facts about interchange fees and how much they are costing retailers and consumers. Visit www.unfaircreditcardfees.com for more information on how you can help.