Merchant Account Provider Explains What New Credit Card Regulations Mean To Consumers

Credit card companies have been slowly raising the rates that they charge merchants for accepting their cards

March 02, 2010 -(OfficialWire)-NEW YORK, NY- According to Jason Agivaive, owner and founder of Nova Merchant Funding (Novamerchantfunding.com), a company that offers credit card processing services at affordable prices, a new credit card law now in effect seeks to protect consumers through better disclosures and more reasonable treatment.

“According to the new law, monthly statements must clearly state how long it will take to pay off existing balances paying only make the required minimum payments; over-limit fees are forbidden unless the cardholder opts in; and interest-rate hikes are also somewhat restricted,” says Agivaive. “While all of this may be good news for consumers, it will cost credit card issuers billions of dollars in lost revenue.”

According to Agivaive, banks are already looking for new ways to make up for these losses and he says that everyone is wondering who will be left holding the bag.

“There is no doubt that companies are looking to pass the buck,” says Agivaive. “Already, credit card companies are instituting annual fees and are likely to continue raising interchange fees which could affect merchants that accept credit cards.”

Credit card companies have been slowly raising the rates that they charge merchants for accepting their cards, Agivave says, and that may be yet another platform for credit card issuers to make up these losses.

“This has business owners worried, and rightly so,” Agivave says, “but the bottom line is that merchants must accept credit cards in order to survive and such fees become just another cost of doing business.”

The good news, however, is that even with the new credit card legislation, more and more consumers are opting to use debit cards over credit cards. Usually, the merchant fees associated with bank issued debit cards are lower than they are from the major credit card providers.

“The bottom line is that both merchants and consumers are sitting back and holding their breath,” say Agivave. “We are all taking a wait and see attitude when it comes to this new legislation. It’s pretty much all we can do.”

Nova Merchant Funding, founded in 1984, is a merchant account provider that offers discounted retail credit card processing services, credit card processing equipment sales, credit card processing software, and merchant accounts with quality customer service. For more information, call 1-888-219-0027 or visit www.novamerchantfunding.com.