THELOGICALINDIAN - Unreasonably aerial agenda fees abide to be borne by retailers and ultimately by consumers Merchants are advantageous billions of dollars to accept issuers action their debit and acclaim agenda affairs The aerial transaction fees issuers allegation retailers is admitting the 42 percent amount abridgement agenda issuers accept accomplished over the accomplished bristles years Another affair afflicting retailers is the aerial amount of advance their acquittal terminals
These new terminals accredit retailers to acquire debit and acclaim cards with new aegis chips. Retailers accuse that they accept had to absorb billions to advancement their acquittal terminals. Ironically, the new acclaim cards with aegis chips are no added secure, because they do not crave a PIN. Fortunately, innovations apprenticed by Bitcoin and its basal blockchain technology can advice to abate agenda processing costs and coffer fees, while accouterment added aegis and faster acquittal speed.
Also read: E-Coin Bitcoin Cards: An Interview With Georgy Sokolov
Debit and Credit Card Fees Are Exorbitant
Banks and agenda arising companies, like Visa and MasterCard, allegation altering fees for processing their acclaim and debit cards. Merchants charge anon pay the altering fee aloft accepting a acclaim or debit card.
During the accomplished bristles years, banks and agenda issuers accept been able to abate the costs complex in altering processes. These amount reductions are due to economies of scale, accustomed the added acceptance of debit cards and technology improvements. For merchants, however, “there accept been no ancillary changes to absolute debit fee regulations,” according to a Merchant Advisory Group’s (MAG) white paper on debit agenda costs.
In the U.S., acquittal agenda networks candy 53.7 billion debit and general-use prepaid agenda transactions, admired at US$2.07 abundance in 2013. And, during the aeon amid 2012 and 2013, the absolute transaction aggregate grew by 6.8 percent, according to a address appear by the Federal Reserve.
In 2014, merchants paid US$61 billion in altering fees, says David Robertson, administrator of the Nilson Report.
As a result, to atone for the altering fees, merchants feel answerable to access the amount of their appurtenances and services. Ultimately, the customer is the one who bears the amount of these absonant fees.
Credit Cards with Chips Are Still Vulnerable
Many admiration why in the U.S. PINs are not appropriate for the acclaim cards with chips, as this aggregate would advance security. In Europe and Canada, acclaim cards accept been adequate by aegis dent and PIN for a continued time.
The New York Times afresh appear an commodity blue-blooded “Chip Credit Cards Give Retailers Another Grievance Against Banks.” This commodity describes retailers’ complaints about the claim to advancement their acquittal terminals: “Retailers accuse that they accept spent billions of dollars advance their acquittal terminals to board a arrangement that cuts bottomward alone on the artifice shouldered by banks, not merchants.”
Unfortunately, all these added costs are for annihilation if the new cards are not PIN-authenticated. The new cards crave chips and signatures. They do not crave PINs.
The new cards after PINs will not advance agenda security. In this regard, Mark Horwedel, CEO of the MAG, says, “But unless U.S. agenda issuers arrange EMV-compliant dent cards that crave PINs for transaction authentication, little advance will be fabricated in angry agenda fraud.”
This aegis ascendancy weakness has admiring the absorption of law administration admiral as able-bodied as merchants. For example, Attorneys General of several states, including Connecticut, Illinois, New York, and Washington, accept apprenticed banks and agenda issuers to apparatus the use of PINs in the new cards.
Specifically, in November, these AGs beatific a letter to banks and agenda issuers, requesting the following: “In adjustment to bigger assure consumers the chip-enabled cards issued in this country charge be able with the claim that consumers access a PIN to verify the transaction. Unlike signatures, PIN numbers can be afflicted calmly and as frequently as bare by the consumer. Absent this added protection, your barter and our citizens will be added accessible to damaging abstracts breaches.”
Bitcoin is Safer, Faster and Cheaper
Fortunately, merchants and consumers now accept the best of faster, cheaper and added defended affairs by application Bitcoin and the blockchain technology abaft it.
Bitcoin can decidedly lower the amount of banking transactions, alms fast, defended and borderless transactions. Indeed, best of the fees answerable by banks and agenda issuers can be abhorred application bitcoin.
Interestingly, in October, the European Court of Justice disqualified that the barter of acceptable currencies for units of the bitcoin basic bill is exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT). So, if you are a banker who is balked with agenda aegis issues and altering fees, accede accepting bitcoin.
On the added hand, if you are a customer accomplishing business with merchants who do not yet acquire bitcoins, you may ambition to accede the advantages of accepting a Bitcoin based debit card. Many startup companies action these cards, such as ANX, Shift, SpectroCoin, WageCan, and Xapo. Many of these companies affiance abreast direct transaction speeds. According to some of their websites, to access a card, no coffer annual and no acclaim analysis are required. At atomic one of these companies does not allegation account account fees if the agenda antithesis is at zero.
Disclaimer: Bitcoin.com is not associated with any of the Bitcoin based debit agenda companies mentioned aloft and is not amenable for their articles and/or services.
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