Nayarit merchants seek lower bank card terminal fees, Digi Mart USA News (Nayarit, Mexico): The Nationwide Chamber of Commerce, Services and Tourism (Canaco) in Nayarit has begun efforts to seek a reduction in the bank commissions that financial institutions charge businesses for the use of payment terminals. The initiative arises amid the growing digitalization of payments and merchants’ urgency to preserve the profitability of small businesses.
Ramón Padilla, president of Canaco in Nayarit, said that while the transition to electronic payments is an essential step toward commercial modernization, current fees represent a considerable financial burden. According to the business leader, charges range from 3 to 5 percent per transaction, which directly reduces the income of those operating in the formal commercial sector.
“We are preparing and training. We have said that digitalization is necessary to make the jump to this modality, but there are also controversies, as we have said, the bank commissions, which are high commissions, but these are issues that are already being addressed at the national level, and we are also working toward sitting down with the banking institutions to reduce this cost so that it is not so high and there can be profits for small businesses,” Padilla said in an interview with El Heraldo Radio Tepic.
Small formal merchants face surcharges of up to 5 percent on each transaction processed by electronic means. Padilla emphasized that the fundamental purpose is to achieve fair commercial conditions that facilitate technological adoption without jeopardizing the financial viability of micro and small businesses.
The goal is to generalize the use of point-of-sale terminals so that businesses do not lose customers in a market that increasingly does without cash.
“That’s right, the commissions vary, ranging from 3 to 4 percent, sometimes up to 5, so it hits very hard. Merchants and small businesses sometimes struggle to survive, especially because we are in the formal sector, and we are always the ones paying various fees.” Digital payments complicate operations for people who work in commerce in Nayarit.
The controversy over these charges and the legal restriction on passing the cost on to the final consumer have placed the issue at the center of the local economic agenda. Current legislation prohibits charging consumers an extra surcharge for paying by credit or debit card, which obliges merchants to absorb the full cost of the transaction.
Given this scenario, the sector seeks to open direct dialogue tables with banks to ease operational pressure.
“Well, that is a project everyone can take on, because sales are also being lost, since many people now pay by card and sales can also be lost. So the strategy here would be for everyone to have a terminal, but also for there to be negotiations with the banks.”
