Speaking of
Strange Deals
We have been
receiving comments from Cardservice International sales organizations
and their competitors that they can not understand why Cardservice
would cut a deal that seems to compete with it's own
offices.
Some tell us that
this looks like a new pricing structure for CSI in their partnership
with Bigstep.com. According to Bigstep.com, less than five percent of
the more than 35 million U.S.-based small businesses currently have
an e-commerce-ready Web site. Many of those businesses will
eventually move their processes to the Internet, creating significant
revenue-generating opportunities for the companies that help
them.
In the deal
between Cardservice and Bigstep, Bigstep is telling its prospective
customers that a Cardservice International-assigned merchant bank
will charge fees directly to them. Bigstep notes that Cardservice
International is a registered service provider for several FDIC
insured banks including: First Financial Bank, Atlanta, GA; Humboldt
Bank, Eureka, CA; Redding Bank of Commerce, Redding, CA; and Tehama
Bank, Red Bluff, CA. Debit network sponsorship will be provided by
Total Bank, Miami, FL; Hudson United Bank, Union City, NJ; and
Redding Bank of Commerce, Redding, CA.
What follows is a
brief overview of the fees associated with a merchant account,
according to Bigstep.com:
-
- Monthly
account fee: $14.95
- Per-transaction
fee: $0.15
-
- Discount
rate:
-
- MasterCard
and Visa 2.67%
- American
Express 3.5%
- Setup
fee: None
- Application
fee: None
- Monthly
minimum: None
- Statement
fee: None
- Gateway
fee: None
- Reporting
fee: None
For more
information, see the article at http://www.redherring.com/insider/1999/0708/news-bigstep.html?id=yahoo.
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