Convenience Store News: Shell Offers Operators a Break on Credit-Card Fees: “According to the company, the temporary relief is not a long-term solution and Shell is actively negotiating with card issuers, such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express, to secure more competitive processing fees.” (ShellNews.net) 20 April 05
HOUSTON -- In an effort to provide retailers and wholesalers with relief from rising credit-card transaction fees, Shell Oil Products US and Motiva have enacted a temporary reduction on Visa, MasterCard, and American Express processing fees. The temporary fee reduction will help level the effect changing gasoline prices have on processing fees and will provide relief to Shell operators during the busy summer driving season.
The three-month reduction will be in place from May 1, 2005, to July 31, 2005, and will apply to all electronic credit-card transactions for Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Since Visa and MasterCard again raised processing fees, Shell has decided to absorb those fee increases at this time to help support its operators. It does not apply to debit-card transactions.
According to the company, the temporary relief is not a long-term solution and Shell is actively negotiating with card issuers, such as Visa, MasterCard and American Express, to secure more competitive processing fees.
The estimated impact of this change is significant. For a 1.8 million-gallon-per-year retailer, the savings is approximately $600 in reduced processing fees over the three-month period. For a 20 million-gallon-per-year wholesaler, the impact is approximately $6,700 in reduced processing fees over the three-month period, and a 60 million-gallon-per-year wholesaler can save approximately $20,000 in reduced processing fees over the three-month period.
"This is high-drive season and we're working to do something for both consumers and retailers," said Carolyn Yapp, cards and payment delivery manager for Shell. The company previously announced a $25 rebate for new Shell credit-card customers.
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