How you can qualify for Level III Credit Card Processing
Level 3 Data: What is it and how you can qualify for Level III Credit Card Processing. Specializing in the B2B Payment space, I am always looking for ways to help my clients reduce the fixed interchange fees they pay to accept commercial cards from clients.
That silver bullet is Level III processing. It can effectively lower your interchange fees by up to 43%.
Interchange accounts for the largest portion of your credit card processing expense (80% or more) and it’s paid to card-issuing banks. Believe it or not, your processor and the card brands (Visa, MasterCard, and Discover) don’t receive any revenue from interchange.
For Business-to-business (B2B and Business-to-government (B2G) transactions interchange rates fall into one of III interchange processing categories — Level I, Level II, and Level III – with I being the highest rates and III being the lowest. It can seem a bit complicated but, its really not. The different interchange rates vary depending on what you include while processing a transaction.
Level I
Level I transactions are typically associated with consumer transactions and limited data, which includes:
- Merchant name
- Purchase Amount
- Date
- Billing zip code
Level II
- Merchant Name
- Sales tax between 0.1% and 31%. If left blank or exempt, will qualify at Level I
- Transaction Amount
- Transaction Date
- Customer Code or PO number
- Merchant Zip Code
Level III
Level III data is information you would typically find on an invoice, which is passed with a credit card transaction.
- Invoice Number
- Order Number
- Ship-From Zip Code
- Destination Zip Code
- Item Description
- Item Quantity
- Item Product Code
- Item Commodity Code
- Item Unit of Measure
- Item Extended Amount
- Duty Amount
- Freight Amount
Including level III interchange data with a commercial card can reduce your interchange cost by as much as 80 basis points, per visa interchange at the time of this writing. Rates vary depending on the type of card and size of ticket.
I hope you see the value level III processing can provide to your business. You are capturing interchange revenue you cannot get from a processor lowering your rate.
Questions about how you can qualify for Level III Credit Card Processing? Give us a call 888 790 3450 or email info@ revolution-payments.com