On July 1st, 2009, VISA USA will begin assessing an Acquirer Processing Fee (APF) of $0.0195 for all U.S. issued cards settled with VISA. EMG has decided to pass this fee through to merchants as a direct cost with no mark-up. We emphasize that there is no mark-up due to the number of questions we have received by merchants switching to EMG that have noticed their previous processor surcharging this fee for their own gain.

What is the Acquirer Processing Fee for?

According to insiders familiar with the implementation of the new fee, VISA is increasing efforts across the enterprise to improve the quality of service and security provided to merchants.

Does this have anything to do with the recession of 2008/2009?

During this recessionary period, same store sales decreased substantially (upwards of 50%) across multiple market segments. Due to the decrease in sales and demand, VISA must maintain their market leader position and identify new revenue sources to continue being a leading edge developer in the electronic payments industry. Whether or not this fee is directly related to the recession is unknown.

How is the fee displayed on the EMG Merchant Statement?

The Visa Acquirer Processing Fee will begin showing up on the July 2009 statement (that is received in August) and listed as VS AUTH PROC FEE.