This document provides an overview of interchange plus pricing for credit card processing. It explains that interchange plus pricing passes on the actual interchange fees paid to card issuers and associations, plus a small markup to cover processing risks. This pricing model eliminates non-qualified fees and surcharges. The document uses an example to show that interchange plus pricing results in lower costs for merchants compared to interchange differential pricing. It encourages merchants to switch to interchange plus pricing for savings and transparency.

1. Interchange+
Pricing
Simplified
Ver.
1
-­‐
Summer
2011

2. Interchange
Simplified
What
is
Interchange?
Simply
put,
Interchange
Plus
pricing
passes
along
hard
costs
that
are
paid
to
VISA
and
MasterCard.
It
also
adds
a
very
small
markup
to
those
costs
to
cover
the
risk
associated
with
each
transac?on
–
the
‘plus’
in
the
name.
When
a
merchant
accepts
credit
cards,
there
are
many
different
ways
those
cards
can
go
through
the
interchange
system,
each
with
a
specific
cost
based
on
a
number
of
different
factors.
These
costs
are
called
interchange
fees,
dues
and
assessments.
Interchange
Dues
&
Assessments
Fees
CARD
ISSUER
(I.E.
RBC) CARD
ASSOCIATIONS
Interchange
fees
are
the
amount
that
is
paid
to
the
card
issuer,
and
dues
&
assessments
are
paid
to
the
card
associa?ons. 2

3. Introducing
Interchange+
Pricing
OK...let’s
talk
Interchange+
Interchange
Plus
is
a
new
type
of
merchant
pricing
program
that
completely
eliminates
all
Non-­‐
Qualified
fees
and
surcharges
associated
with
premium
and
high-­‐spend
credit
cards!
INTERCHANGE PLUS
Interchange+
Cost
for
processing
a
credit
card
+
A
markup
from
the
Acquirer
=
Pricing
transacNon,
paid
to
card
issuer
(such
as
Payfirma)
to
cover
risk
(ie:
Royal
Bank
Avion
associaNon
with
credit
card
VISA®) purchase
Think
of
it
this
way
–
on
a
Prime
Plus
Mortgage,
you
are
the
paying
the
actual
cost
of
the
product.
The
‘Plus’
is
the
small
mark-­‐up
added
to
compensate
the
loaning
bank
for
any
risk.
3

4. Commonly
Used
Interchange
Rates
4

5. Commonly
Used
Interchange
Rates
5

6. Working
for
Canadian
Merchants
Why
is
Payfirma
offering
Interchange+?
Canadian
businesses
are
fed
up
with
hidden
fees,
excessive
surcharges
and
convoluted
billing
structures
when
it
comes
to
payment
processing.
In
May
of
2010,
the
Ministry
of
Finance
released
the
Code
of
Conduct
to
address
merchant
complaints.
The
Code’s
first
and
most
important
recommenda?on
was:
Payfirma
is
offering
Interchange
Pricing
as
the
simplest,
most
transparent
and
cost-­‐effec?ve
model
to
ensure
merchants
are
fully
aware
of
the
costs.
The
model
also
enables
these
business
owners
to
maximize
the
profit
on
each
transac?on! 6

7. What
is
the
BeZer
Offer?
Interchange+
vs.
Interchange
DifferenNal
If
merchant
has
the
choice
between
these
two
rates
how
do
they
know
which
one
is
the
beUer
offer?
We’ll
use
a
$10,000
credit
card
sales
example
to
compare
the
same
transac?on
with
Interchange+
Pricing
versus
Interchange
Differen?al.
Let’s
compare...
7

8. How
they
Compare
Now
that
we’ve
compared
the
cost
difference
between
Interchange+
and
Interchange
Differen?al,
it’s
easy
to
see
the
advantage
of
Interchange+
Pricing. 8

9. How
Canadian
Merchants
can
benefit
For
the
majority
of
businesses,
switching
to
an
Interchange+
pricing
model
will
result
in
significant
savings,
and
will
eliminate
all
non-­‐qualified
fees
moving
forward.
Other
benefits
include:
COMPLETE
TRANSPARENCY
TO
UNDERSTAND
AND
MANAGE
YOUR
COSTS
PROPERLY
LOW
PROCESSING
COSTS
THAT
ARE
NORMALLY
RESERVED
FOR
LARGE
MERCHANTS
ONLY
EASY
TO
READ
MONTHLY
STATEMENTS
WITH
CLEAR
AND
CONCISE
RATES
NO
MORE
SURCHARGES
BASED
ON
CARD
TYPE
USED
To
find
out
what
op?on
is
best
for
you,
contact
one
of
our
Interchange
Experts
and
have
your
account
analyzed.
You
can
get
started
right
away!
Either
call
us
directly
at
1-­‐800-­‐747-­‐6883,
or
visit
payfirma.com/interchange_plus,
and
one
of
our
friendly
Interchange
Experts
will
call
you
back.
9
7

10. For
more
informaNon:
Payfirma
Corpora4on
2002
-­‐
1188
West
Georgia
Street
Vancouver,
B.C.
V6E
4A2
800.747.6883
toll-­‐free
866.649.0050
facsimile
Payment
Acceptance
Simplified