Wal-Mart filed a similar suit against Visa in May. The Security Problem According to Home Depot Home Depot accuses Visa and Mastercard of being more concerned with protecting their “inflated profits and dominant market positions” than in the security of payment cards used by consumers and “the health of the United States economy.” It allege...

The card brands claim minimal impact on your customer’s checkout process while adding additional protection. But how does it work, and why should you care about the additional protection? Let’s take a look at what using Mastercard SecureCode entails and how it may help or harm your bottom line. What is Mastercard SecureCode? Mastercard S...

The suit, which dates back to 2005, accuses the card networks and banks of conspiring to fix interchange fees that businesses pay to process credit and debit cards. The settlement is seen as a victory by many fighting for interchange reform, but at least three plaintiffs in the case feel it doesn't go far enough. Update: December 13, 2013 -- Acco...

Enhanced Merit 3 is a Mastercard interchange category. Interchange fees are essentially the wholesale cost of credit card processing and generate income for banks that issue credit and debit cards. The word "Enhanced" refers to the type of credit card, and "Merit 3" refers to how the card is accepted and processed. The Enhanced MasterCard card cat...

Merit 3 is Mastercard’s way of referring to a card-present transaction for most restaurants and retailers. It can actually apply to several different interchange categories based on card type and other details. It does not apply to card-not-present transactions, which will typically qualify for Merit I interchange rates. This article explains sp...

Mastercard charges the NABU fee on all authorized or refunded credit and signature debit Mastercard transactions. The fee is currently set at $0.0195. Mastercard Assessment Fees Assessment fees, such as the NABU fee, are charges incurred as part of processing a credit card. Revenue generated from the NABU fee goes directly to MasterCard, mean...

Mastercard charges an assessment fee called a “cross border fee” on all transactions acquired in the United States that involve a credit card issued outside of the United States. For example, if a cardholder uses their Canadian-issued Mastercard to make a purchase from a business in Michigan, the business will be assessed a cross border fee. Let...