AIB is set to introduce a new 'authorisation request fee' on card payments, for retailers contracted to AIB Merchant Services and Payzone.
The fee, of €0.02 per transaction, will apply from 1 January 2015.
AIB Merchant Services has written to retailers notifying them of the additional charge. It said that as part of the transaction process, "each transaction you undertake is automatically issued for authorisation, a process whereby a transaction is approved or declined by the card issuer. […] To reflect the true cost to AIBMS and Payzone of processing each authorisation request, from 1 January 2015, each card transaction will incur a cost of €0.02."
Retail Intelligence understands that the new charge will be implemented on top of the existing transaction fees valid on card transactions, of either a flat fee for debit cards, or a percentage of the sale total for credit cards.
As Vincent Jennings of the Convenience Stores & Newsagents Association pointed out, "none of these fees are subject to regulatory oversight by either the Central Bank or any State department, meaning that "if a merchant service provider can introduce an entirely new item to debit their retailer base, what next will be considered, and for how long will this €0.02 cent fee per transaction remain until it is increased?"
In addition, Bank of Ireland has announced an increase in the cost of business banking. From February 23 of next year, the cost of lodging cash will rise to 60 cent per €100 lodged, a 25% increase from the previous 48 cent charge. Coin lodgments will attract a fee of €3 per €100 lodged, up from €2 previously.
Additional charges are also set to be introduced on cheque lodgments, while quarterly account maintenance fees are also set to rise. However, the cost of processing direct debits and standing orders has fallen by 10 cent per transaction.
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Stephen Wynne-Jones
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