Case Study - EBMDA Member - Seven Locations



This client is a member of the Eastern Building Material Dealers Association.  There are seven locations and process approximately $8 million in annual Visa/MC sales.

Challenge
When STM first met this client they were using the credit card processing services that had been recommended by their local bank.  They believed their rates were competitive, but felt their costs were steadily creeping up.

In our conversation with the controller, STM determined that the present provider had failed to update the client's fraud protection features or to implement the correct program to process small business purchase cards correctly.  STM also identified that the terminals that were presently in place were capable of processing both of these programs.

Solution
STM analyzed two months data from 2005 and compared it to the same two months in 2006.  Through this analysis, it was discovered that they did not have any transactions being processed at the low cost
"Check Card" rate.  It was also determined that the percentage of high cost "Non Qualified" transactions rose from 17% to 33%, and their overall cost of processing increased by 13 basis points during this period.

STM was able to lower this client's rates in all interchange categories.  STM reprogrammed their existing equipment, trained all employees and carefully monitored the network settings.  The low cost "Check Card" category had a positive increase from zero to 8%, whereas the high cost "Non-Qualified" category decreased from 33% to 9%.
  

  
By implementing STM service in all locations this client
is presently enjoying a savings of 19 basis points.
The 2007 cost is lower than the 2005 cost and yielded
a savings of $14,774 in the first year of service.
  


 

Skylands Transaction Management, Inc.
866-828-5575
908-238-0571
Ttague@skylandstm.com


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