Bank credit card charges are difficult to reduce POS machine to swallow restaurant 15% profit

Banks have high fees for card swiping and have been criticized by merchants. In 2004, Shenzhen retailers were triggered to strike. In September this year, the relevant responsible person of the National Development and Reform Commission confirmed to the media that the State Council has passed the plan. After the revision, the credit card reduction rate is 23%-24%. The Chinese chain management association broke the news recently. This plan was approved by the State Council in May this year, but the bank has not been "cooperating." Today, there is still no progress in the adjustment of the credit card fee. What is the resistance? Experts said that the price did not talk.

â–  Case

"POS machine checkout to swallow 15% profit"

●Mr. Li (head of Beijing restaurant)

The handling fee for bank receipts for catering is 2%. In recent years, the cost of the catering industry has risen and profits have fallen. The POS card charging model has increased the burden on restaurants. I have done statistics on this aspect last year. The fee already accounts for 15% of the total profit in our store, which is estimated to be higher this year.

Now that customers are paying more and more credit cards, the guests are convenient. For each additional credit card, our restaurant will pay a fee for this.

Some of the peers no longer accept customers to pay for the card, in fact, our restaurant has always had this idea, but I am worried that this will affect the business, so I have not made a decision.

If the card processing fee can be reduced, I would rather reduce the price of some dishes in the store to attract business.

“You can enjoy a 'cash discount' without swiping your card”

●Ms. Wang (Beijing Consumer)

Last weekend I bought a dress for a child in a large shopping mall in Beijing. When I take out my credit card and prepare for payment, the salesperson says that it is not recommended to swipe the card, it is best to pay cash. She explained that once the card is in trouble, the second fee is too high to bear. This dress is priced at 80 yuan, but I only brought more than 70 yuan in cash, the salesman hesitated for a while, and finally sold at 70 yuan. It’s almost equivalent to a 10% discount. I was the first to enjoy such a “cash discount”. Is the credit card rate high enough for merchants to make a 10% discount? I feel incredible.

â–  News review

The fee is lowered. "Dry thunder does not rain"

The China Chain Store & Franchise Association recently issued a statement: As early as May 2011, the State Council’s leadership instructions were led by the National Development and Reform Commission, and together with the Ministry of Commerce, the People’s Bank of China, and the China Banking Regulatory Commission, jointly studied and formulated a plan to reduce bank card fees. As early as May of this year, the State Council approved the price reduction plan, but the bank has not issued the implementation rules, resulting in more and more businesses losing confidence in the favorable policies.

According to a survey conducted by the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, the average profit margin of the retail industry is only about 2%, and the bank's credit card handling fee is as high as 0.5%-1%. At present, on the one hand, consumer spending on card spending is increasing at a rate of 30% per year. The average consumption of card in the supermarket industry is 35%, and that in department stores and home appliances is over 60%. The annual fee for card-swapping is only a few million yuan. Then it is over 100 million yuan. On the other hand, the operating costs of merchants increase by more than 15% annually, and the profit level declines year by year.

â–  Reason analysis

“Awaiting approval from central authorities and other competent authorities”

A person close to the NDRC:

According to the “China Banking Union Networking Agency Bank Card Interbank Trading Income Distribution Method”, the settlement fee for the bank card acquiring business is all borne by the merchant. According to the industry, the rate standard ranges from 0.5% to 4%. The charge for this piece is heavy, and many businesses have reflected a lot, and the social response is not good. According to the "Commercial Banking Law", it is clearly stipulated: "Commercial banks handle business and provide services, and charge fees according to regulations. The charging items and standards shall be divided by the banking regulatory agency of the State Council and the People's Bank of China according to their duties, and shall be formulated separately with the competent pricing department of the State Council. The National Development and Reform Commission is the competent price department, but it is understood that the current NDRC has not participated.

At present, the National Development and Reform Commission has revised and improved the charging plan. The State Council has already adopted this method, and the estimated reduction is 23%-24%. However, the specific implementation is still waiting for the approval of the central bank and other competent authorities.

â–  Expert voice

“Businesses and financial institutions have not talked about each other”

● Guo Tianyong (Director, China Banking Research Center, Central University of Finance and Economics):

The policy of lowering the card processing fee has been delayed, and the biggest resistance is that merchants and financial institutions cannot reach a consensus on the collection standards.

Since the current charging standards are classified according to industry, the profitability of enterprises in different industries is different, and there are naturally different attitudes toward the level of charging standards. It is obviously unrealistic for financial institutions to divide different charging standards according to the specific conditions of each merchant.

It is hoped that all stakeholders can really sit down and negotiate this issue and get a reasonable charging standard acceptable to all parties. At the same time, China's credit card industry is still in the growth stage, and should be allowed to charge a certain fee to maintain sustainable industrial development.

Some people believe that the reduction of credit card fees in the banking industry can encourage merchants to use pos machines to facilitate consumer payments, thus achieving multiple wins. This is actually difficult to establish, because lowering fees does not necessarily lead to an increase in credit card consumption, and other payment channels such as third-party payment and online banking are currently hitting the market share of credit cards, so this statement may be financial institutions. It will not "buy".

â–  Lawyer's statement

“Banks are individually priced or suspected of monopolizing”

●You Yunting, Partner of Shanghai Dabang Law Firm:

At present, if the relevant fees for POS card processing fees are separately formulated by the bank, from the legal point of view, the Anti-Monopoly Law and the Anti-Unfair Competition Law may be involved, because the financial sector is currently spending on credit card consumption. There is a monopoly position.

The competent department in charge of credit card related business is the central bank, so it is obviously very difficult to reduce the rate for yourself. This also involves the issue of third-party payment licenses. If there are more and more payment licenses in the future, competition at the payment level may also be possible to reduce this part of the fee through competition.

Now the main income of the bank comes from the difference between deposit and loan. On the other hand, it is the intermediary business. The credit card fee is the intermediary business. At present, the bank's deposit and loan gap is quite stable in China. It can be said that it is full of earning money. It is also possible to give up part of the intermediary business. In addition, although the State Council has already agreed to the downgrade plan, the specific implementation measures have not yet been introduced, and I think it may involve the interests of the department.

â–  Link

Foreign fees are higher than domestic

At present, the processing fee rate of China's retail industry is 0.8%-1%, the supermarket is 0.5%, and the catering industry is 2%. According to a statement issued by the Banking Association in September this year, the standard for domestic bank card credit card fees is generally low, and the average rate is only 1/3 of the average rate of foreign card processing fees. Most banks' bank card business is in a loss or meager profit, which is not conducive to the sustainable development of the bank card industry.

According to CCTV, in the United States, the four major credit card companies VISA, MasterCard, American Express and Discover have different requirements for credit card fees, but in general, they are 1.5%-3.5% of the transaction amount. There is no obvious rate difference between industries, but credit card companies will set different charging standards according to the specific conditions of each merchant. That is, the use of the same company's credit card, due to the different types of cards, the handling fees are not the same.

This edition was written/New Beijing News reporter Zhong Jingjing Li Jing Shen Qingqing

(Editor: Zhang Hongjun)

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