Credit card brands like Visa and Mastercard typically review their pricing and make any necessary adjustments twice a year, in the months of April and October. This timing aligns with when they update their interchange fee structures and processing rules, and often includes some type of pricing increase. Not all card brands will increase their pricing during these months, but many do in one or more categories. Some of the changes may be targeted to specific industries with unique fee adjustments, where others are broader covering many business types. The primary focus of these updates is often changes in the interchange rates, which are the fees merchants pay to the card networks for each transaction. Other changes the card brands may include are increases based on the type of transaction, such as online or other card not present transactions. These adjustments can also reflect changes in the industry, new technologies that are emerging, and other regulatory updates that might impact overall processing costs.

Because we know some type of increase is likely to occur every April and October from the Card Brands, Talus works very hard to keep costs lower in other areas to help offset these costs. Where possible, we try to absorb as many processing related costs as we can, but no merchant processing company can absorb all the increases from the card brands so some of those costs could be passed on to the merchants. To be as informed as possible on what increases are happening, and if they could impact your business, we encourage you to review your monthly statement messaging located at the end of your monthly statement each month for more details on Card Brand changes, including any pricing increases expected. We will always list any changes there, and usually a few months in advance so you have time to plan accordingly. Because most of these changes are interchange related, remember that many companies, including Talus, have programs designed to offset a majority of your processing costs, so ask a representative today for more information if this might be a good option for you.