0000058517 00000 n Customers using Amex tend to make larger purchases, with many Amex cards being used for business and corporate purchases. 0000028403 00000 n 0000006732 00000 n American Express OptBlue® Merchants who process less than $1,000,000 per year in American Express transactions may be eligible for the American Express OptBlue® program. Seamless integration with Visa, MasterCard, and Discover infrastructure. 0000086647 00000 n 0000037231 00000 n 2 Merchant Operating Guide - U.S. Introduction::About American Express 1.1 About American Express American Express was established more than 160 years ago and has … You could possibly save money on charge card charges by registering for the American Express OptBlue program (also it’s not difficult to do). It has recently cut rates through a new program for qualified merchants, which we discuss in more detail below. American Express OptBlue. There is a way to save money on processing American Express credit cards - it's called OptBlue pricing. Call 855-894-6570. Wind River is carefully tracking the timing of additional changes. Let’s explore the bare bones facts about what Amex OptBlue has to offer merchants, including its benefits, rates, who is eligible, and how to take advantage of OptBlue without falling prey to hollow marketing strategies. Effective April 2019, American Express will change several Industry Pricing Categories and associated interchange tiers and rates for their OptBlue program. trailer <<56FC26F5829343C899B349DFEB522DCC>]/Prev 131729/XRefStm 1649>> startxref 0 %%EOF 75 0 obj <>stream American Express OptBlue American Express made revisions to the Merchant Exclusion List globally. Amex is a popular credit card used by many consumers from around the world. 0000001649 00000 n 0000001815 00000 n ... Additional Visa, Mastercard, and American Express enhancements coming July 2020. The Right Way. What does this mean for you? disclosed to third parties without the express prior written consent of American Express. American Express Payment Processing Options for Businesses. This all has changed, thanks to the launch of OptBlue. With American Express OptBlue, the rates are set by the third-party provider. disclosed to third parties without the express prior written consent of American Express. Because the rates were so high, many businesses chose not to accept American Express cards – leading to the new more afordable OptBlue pricing for small businesses. OptBlue rates are shown below but there are a few additional fees you should be aware of. 0000053873 00000 n 0000058115 00000 n One B2B merchant service provider contract. :cp���` ����� �`O��UY��qu�9�|A\���C�m���x!Jg���!�~�!��U�݃�bc'[8~���g8Fu�>[�J����7K�j��������LT� Supported Payment Gateways And Point Of Sale, American Express OptBlue Wholesale Discount Rates, Here, customer service is king... (so is agent service), AMEX NETWORK FEES (Applies to all transactions), AMEX INTL CROSS BORDER FEE (Applies to all international transactions), AMEX KEYED FEE (Applies to all manually keyed transactions). F9�M7X���o~� �`���X&��e���r>��GCO� � )X���>-�.+U4����?���!�J7䢬xѠ���1� ��j�J4w����I�#�Oc4y�]H��@��ᨸ��9�Y��,n~�u��uÀO��uZ[j�M� (�q�P��D��߬ �Kj�w�8rd��� �8~TB�� ��S 5�Q�S$�68�0�H�/�Y���%�%�]K�O�v��#�v�P�N�n1]� 7�24��9Cm.N�%��! American Express Payment Processing Options for Businesses. However, American Express (Amex) is a closed loop system, with many smaller merchants getting priced out of the relatively high rates that American Express charges. Visit Our Newsroom . In the past, American Express® financed and processed each transaction — unlike Mastercard and Visa, which only process payments. Participant grants American Express , View the list of participating providers here. Accepting payment via American Express has long been a challenge for merchants; it used to require working with Amex directly, and the card fees were greater than what you’d pay for Visa or Mastercard. American Express OptBlue Retail Rate Grid. The report has the biggest interchange structural changes that we’ve seen in a decade. American Express Interchange Rates. Merchants in this MCC with average Amex tickets between $250 and $3000 will see an interchange increase of 15 basis points. American Express Fee Changes Effective April 2020 OptBlue Eligibility: OptBlue is limited to U.S. Small Merchants that have an estimated American Express charge volume of less than $1M per year, and certain industry and franchise restrictions apply. Amex Interchange Rates With OptBlue Agreements. 0000054434 00000 n 0000002577 00000 n Before OptBlue, small businesses had much higher processing fees for Amex cards. 0000057788 00000 n American Express OptBlue® If your business is processing less than $1,000,000 per year in American Express transactions, you may qualify for the American Express OptBlue program. July 2020 Interchange Modifications Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express OptBlue have announced new rates and service changes to take effect in July 2020. Fee Program Rules New rate AM Service/Prof Serv Tier 4 Transaction amount >$3,000.00 2.40% + $0.10 ... ESA and OptBlue®. 0000037893 00000 n �{F$j [PHA�#&J��KN��D�����M�˦��I g|�^���8�ǐ�a�>�ZRi�1Ri��Q�J"�)1M(�`}�8GAmʵI^�cT��sk�I>�9�g��!�錧�X�9� ... Sep 2020 - Press Release - For Immediate Release. Customers using Amex tend to make larger purchases, with many Amex cards used for business and corporate purchases. 0000054833 00000 n 0000028935 00000 n MCC 6513 is now under the Services Industry Pricing Category. By accepting Amex, your customers can … This program should lower the American Express processing cost for thousands of ecommerce, retail, and other merchants in the U.S. 0000008945 00000 n OptBlue is a program started by American Express (Amex) to offer an affordable way for small businesses to accept their cards. With OptBlue, your provider sets your American Express rate just like they do for the other card brands you accept, so you have more rate options. June 18, 2020. OptBlue. Processors then add a markup on top of those base rates. The processor can now offer interchange plus pricing on American Express merchant accounts, which provides better Amex rates. Interchange Fees Increasing April 2020 The payment processing world is going through some significant changes. American Express OptBlue is introducing a Tier 4 for both Restaurant and Services/Professional Services interchange programs. Accepting payment via American Express has long been a challenge for merchants; it used to require working with Amex directly, and the card fees were greater than what you’d pay for Visa or Mastercard. This kept unknowing merchants in the dark, as their overall rates didn’t change, but their processor’s rates for Amex went up substantially—in some cases up to 50%. Visa sent a document that outlined the proposal to banks. 0000014262 00000 n Your business can accept Amex credit cards under the same pricing structure as Visa, Mastercard , and Discover. 0000028866 00000 n But OptBlue was a game changer for American Express and Amex is now accepted at 99% of businesses that take credit cards. 0000037447 00000 n To keep up with Visa and Mastercard, American Express is offering sign-on bonuses to companies to offset start-up costs. 0000104925 00000 n American Express is increasing the General Assessment fee from 0.15% to 0.16% and the Inbound fee from 0.40% to 1.00%. One merchant statement all brands. The rates are reasonable, and competition amongst merchant account solutions provides plenty of payment processing options. American Express Opt-Blue Wholesale Discount Rates. This program offers what is referred to as a “wholesale” pricing agreement to smaller merchants (merchants processing less than $1 million annually). Current US Interchange Rates The term “Interchange rate” refers to the fees charged by the card companies for use of their cards. American Express: Amex is increasing their Network Access fee for all merchants that process on their OptBlue program, from 0.15% to 0.16% on all processing volume. April 2020 Interchange Changes ... in addition to some specific interchange rate increases. �Q̆v��,e. American Express OptBlue® Pricing . All Rights Reserved. Referral Partners American Express Interchange Rates. Electronic Payments now offers OptBlue℠ Program for American Express ® Card Acceptance! Beyond the cost savings, businesses can aquire OptBlue processing through the same payment processing company that supplies their Visa and MasterCard processing bringing all of the merchants services together in one place with one easy to understand statement at the end of the month. American Express Optblue® Program: It is time to let American Express® Cards into your business. 566 RTLNS1 Retail Transaction Amount 1 (<$75.00) Non Swiped 1.90% + $0.10 N 567 RTLNS2 Retail Transaction Amount 2 ($75.01 - $1,000.00) Non Swiped 2.25% + $0.10 N 568 RTLNS3 Retail Transaction Amount 3 (>$1000.00) Non Swiped 2.70% + $0.10 N With the OptBlue program, American Express provides standard “wholesale” (interchange) rates to processors, similar to Visa or Mastercard. As of April 17, 2020, the new rate is 2.35% + $0.10 per transaction. American Express OptBlue Program Pricing and Signing Guidelines will be revised in the U.S. Our Visa/MC/Discover rate is Interchange plus 1 basis point, but their reps are insisting that the 55 basis point Discount and 15 … To qualify for the lower priced OptBlue program, a business must process less than $1 million dollars in AMEX credit cards annually. Photo Stream. In “American Express OptBlue Program May Reduce Processing Cost,” my article last month, I explained American Express’s new program called OptBlue. Visa uses interchange reimbursement fees as transfer fees between acquiring banks and issuing banks for each Visa card transaction. American Express is a popular credit card used by many consumers from around the world. American Express Discount Rates. Fill out the fields below and a Host Merchant Services representative will contact you. Your submitted information is private and secure. Since OptBlue wasn’t well-advertised, some speculate that American Express gave too much power to processors, who took advantage of the situation and added huge markups to the new low rates. American Express discount rates are based largely on a business’s merchant category code (MCC). So the credit card fees are typically higher for American Express cards. Rates vary by category and ticket size, usually falling into one of three tiers. 0000104672 00000 n ESA is American Express’ direct processing program, which means your account and transaction settlement is directly managed by American Express. American Express discount rates are based largely on a business’s merchant category code (MCC). 0000037472 00000 n American Express OptBlue New Rate and Rule change for Service/Professional Services Interchange Program American Express OptBlue is introducing a Tier 4 for Services/Professional Services transactions that are greater than $3,000.00. 0000010159 00000 n 0000007852 00000 n To be able to use the OptBlue program, the business must process less than $1 million dollars in American Express cards each year. Standard Amex OptBlue® wholesale discount rates apply. 2 Merchant Operating Guide - U.S. Introduction::About American Express 1.1 About American Express American Express was established more than 160 years ago and has … Terms of Service. High-risk merchant services provided through Electronic Merchant Systems (EMS). corporate Card Members- shoppers who represent over 50 million Cards In the U.S. EMV Credit Card Machines These card companies include Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover. American Express Technical Specifications within thirty (30) days of the publication’s release date. Get a Call Back. 0000001958 00000 n If you already accept American Express — but process less than $1 million in transactions — joining OptBlue may help to reduce your processing fees. However, thanks to the OptBlue program, since 2014 American Express has offered a viable way for small businesses to accept Amex cards. American Express BrandVoice ... Feb 7, 2020, 08:14am EST | ... Credit card companies charge interchange fees to merchants that accept electronic payment. American Express Opt-Blue Wholesale Discount Rates. 0000014100 00000 n 0000054409 00000 n 0000105274 00000 n It should be noted that these fees are not exorbitant and are pretty much the same as the same fees applied by Visa and MasterCard. The OptBlue program allows the merchant account provider to set the rates and fees merchants pay, … 0000028378 00000 n 1.3.6 American Express may receive information from Participant in connection with the Program through annual forums and ongoing consultation according to Chapter 22 of these Operating Regulations. 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