DEBIT CARDS FACTS:Growth in the number of purchases initiated with signature-based, or offline debit. MasterCard and Visa check cards slowed a bit during the first six months of this year, to 18.5% from 21% growth during the first six months of 2003. The 2003 growth rate, which compared with a 19.7% growth rate during the first six months of 2002, had reversed a downward trend. During the first half of this year, consumers initiated 5.44 billion offline debit purchases compared with 4.59 billion during the same period last year. Total dollars spent with offline debit cards through June 30 were $213.1 billion, up 18.2%. Total offline debit cards issued reached 202.4 million, up 8.3%. Visa continues its dominance of the two-player offline debit market, securing an 80.9% share of transactions initiated during the first half of this year, a 79.4% share of purchase-dollars spent and a 72.6% share of cards issued.Source: CardLine / Date: August 6, 2004


While most merchants know they should accept debit cards, most do not understand how to take full advantage of accepting debit cards.
Below is a brief tutorial on debit cards that all merchants should read.
Merchants can accept debit cards in one of two ways:

Off-line Debit Transaction
The most common way to accept debit cards is an "off-line debit transaction." In this type of sale the merchant accepts a debit card the same way in which they would accept a normal credit card. The card is swiped through the terminal and the customer signs the receipt. As far as the merchant is concerned there is no difference in the way a credit card or an off-line debit card is processed. The one thing merchants must remember is that the debit card must have a VISA or MasterCard logo on it. Cards that do not bear the Visa or MasterCard logo can not be processed off-line and will not be approved.

On-line Debit Transaction
A newer and cheaper method for accepting debit cards at the point of sale is an "on-line debit transaction." In this type of sale the card must be swiped through the terminal and a PIN Pad must be installed on the terminal. Instead of signing the receipt for the transaction the customer will be prompted to enter his or her PIN number into the PIN Pad. The terminal will pass the encrypted number to the bank for verification. The merchant will then be paid for the transaction in the same manner and time frame that they would be paid on a credit card sale.

FACT:
Banks are making hundreds of million dollars from merchants who don’t understand that they are accepting Check/ATM/Debit cards and being charged a standard Visa/MasterCard discount rate plus transactions fees on each Check/ATM/Debit Card.
FACT:
Consumers enjoy using Check/ATM/Debit cards because they are convenient. Most retail establishments accept them because they do require a pin pad. Consumers can pay with plastic without incurring the interest charges associated with credit cards.
FACT:
A Debit transaction is the only guaranteed and secured form of payment for a merchant. Checks can bounce. Cash can be counterfeit and credit cards can be charged back.
FACT:
A Check/Debit/ATM debit transaction is typically the least inexpensive form of payment a merchant can accept.

There are several advantages to accepting debit cards "on-line" using a PIN pad.

Merchants are charged a flat fee for each on-line debit transaction instead of a percentage rate plus transaction fee.
This can add up to a substantial savings over the course of a month. Assuming a merchant takes 100 debit cards over the course of a month (about 3 per day) and averages $85 per sale, here is a conservative cost analysis. Below you can see that this merchant would have saved $903.00 over the course of a year.

  

  Debit Card Credit Card

Cost Per Transaction

100 @ 65 Cents

$65.00

100 @ 25 Cents

$25.00

Discount Rate

N/A

  

$8,500 @ 1.65%*

$140.25

Cost Per Month

  

$65.00

  

$165.25

Cost Per Year

  

$780.00

  

$1,983.00

Annual Savings $1,203.00  

*The rate used is a typical discount rate. Although rates differ for merchants, most would be within a few hundredths of a percent of this rate.

Transactions can not "downgrade." With debit cards, you will always pay the same flat fee as long as the customer enters their PIN number. You will not have to worry about paying expensive downgrade fees on transactions that did not qualify for the best rate.

Faster check out time. Most merchants do not realize how much time it takes to hand a receipt and pen back and forth over the counter. Consumers appreciate the speed of online debit transactions and feel more comfortable making smaller purchases when they don't have to worry about holding up the line.

Increased customer loyalty. Every consumer has their own spending habits and preferences in how they pay for products. More and more consumers are getting used to entering their PIN at the point of sale and prefer to spend their money at places that accept debit cards. These customers expect to be able to pay with their debit cards.

For more information on accepting debit cards contact BMS at 800 540-8424.