In Brief: Customers of Heartland Payment Systems were recently surprised to learn a Technology Upgrade fee will be applied to their April credit card processing invoice. This is another fee in a list of price increases and added fees Heartland customers have incurred in recent months. While it’s always frustrating to see a new fee on your statement, there is a silver lining in this case. This new fee is accompanied by a contract escape clause allowing merchants to terminate a contract without incurring any early termination fees. While Wind River Payments does not engage in adding arbitrary assessments, this article shares the information we have learned about the Technology Upgrade fee, how you can use it get out of your contract, and other fees that may indicate you are paying too much for your credit card processing.
What is a Technology Upgrade Fee?
Theoretically, payment processors that tack on this fee are doing so to recoup the cost of technology and processing environment upgrades. It is not an uncommon practice as many industries charge customers for technology and infrastructure enhancements. However, for many merchants, this is the second or third “upgrade fee” Heartland has imposed in the past several months. This fee, in particular, is $499 per merchant location.
In addition, when charging a technology upgrade fee, it is a best practice to communicate to customers specifically what enhancements are taking place and how they will improve their experience. Heartland has offered no such explanation of their technology upgrade – just a statement message to notify their customers about the fee and other pricing increases such as PCI non-compliance.
Why Am I Being Charged This New Fee?
From what we’ve heard, the most recent Technology Upgrade fee from Heartland has been universally applied to all its customers. Your business size or processing volume doesn’t appear to be a factor – all customers are being assessed the same amount.
One might take this as a sign they are steering away from the SMB market and using fee increases to “encourage” smaller customers to shop elsewhere for payment processing. A surprise fee of $499 is pennies to a Fortune 500 company, but small business owners can feel the pinch of this extra expense.
Same Tactic, Different Day
Unnecessary fees are becoming more commonplace among many payment processing providers. Below is a list of fees that fall into that “unnecessary” category. If you see these on your statement, you may want to consider having your statements analyzed for cost savings opportunities or just changing payment providers.
- Non-EMV Fees
- Monthly Discount Fee
- PCI Non-Compliance Fee (your processor should offer to help you become compliant, not just collect non-compliance fees)
- Customer Intelligence Suite
- Infrastructure Fee
Related Video: Finding the Hidden Fees on Your Credit Card Processing Statement
But Wait, There’s Good News
There may be a bright side to the Technology Upgrade fee. It can be used by customers to terminate any contract they may be in. But there is an important caveat to that. If the merchant wants to terminate its agreement, a written notice is required – typically within 90 – 120 days of invoicing.
In the long term, some businesses have sought help from third-party consultants to potentially reverse these charges. The best thing you can do is carefully review your statement, and if you notice any of these fees, use the opportunity to break free and move to a processor that is more cost effective for your business.
Not All Payment Processors Are Created Equal
The last bit of good news is that not all payment processors practice this type of questionable billing, Wind River Payments being one of them. Wind River was formed over 25 years ago solely because the founders were tired of seeing customers being taken advantage of through questionable tactics. They wanted to bring integrity back to the industry, and we’re proud to follow those standards to this day. To demonstrate our commitment, we created our industry unique After the Handshake promise to our customers.
If you’re a merchant that has seen these types of fees on your statement or if you think you’re not getting a fair shake on your pricing, let’s talk!
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