Retail NZ supports the Commerce Commission’s ruling on interchange fees for the Mastercard and Visa networks.
“Retail payments are a contentious area for retail businesses. We have called for changes in the system, to make it easier for retailers to understand and to enable them to provide better customer experiences and for lower fees” Retail NZ chief xecutive Carolyn Young said.
However, Young voiced disappointment that commercial credit cards and prepaid cards have not been included in the new pricing standards.
“While the Commerce Commission has announced interchange fee caps for domestic and international debit and credit card transactions, we are disappointed that commercial credit cards and prepaid cards are not currently included in the new pricing standards. This was a move that Retail NZ called for in our submission to the Commission’s consultation last year, saying the focus on Mastercard and Visa was too narrow and only partially addressed the issues faced by retailers and the flow-on effects for customers.”
Retail NZ backed the Commerce Commission’s initiative to introduce lower caps on interchange fees within the payments system.
“However, interchange fees account for a little over half the total cost of Merchant Service Fees (MSF) and retailers have concerns about the cost of other components. A reduction in the interchange fees alone will not address the overall costs that retailers pay via MSF. In our submission, we called for the Commission to regulate the total MSF to provide ongoing certainty for our members,” Retail NZ said.
Retail NZ also supports the Commerce Commission’s decision to look further into the regulation of surcharges to ensure fairness for both retailers and consumers.