EMV Payment Processing: Enhanced Security and Heartland’s Hidden Fees

The nationwide shift to EMV payment processing, commonly known as chip or smart cards, began in 2015 with the liability shift. This change made the party with the least secure technology responsible for chargebacks and fraudulent transactions. Since then, EMV transactions have become a way of life, and consumers have grown more comfortable with the seamless checkout process and security they receive.

Major card brands are continuing to push EMV payment processing over swipe. Beginning June 1, 2021, if a merchant has greater than 10% fallback transactions monthly, VISA will be issuing a Non-EMV Fallback fee. If an EMV card is swiped instead of using the EMV chip, a fallback fee of $0.10 will be assessed per transaction. In addition, with the push for gas stations to comply by June 2021, we are about to take our first full steps into a totally EMV-based world.

Uncovering Heartland’s Hidden Fees

At Heartland, remaining vigilant against the consistent threat of fraud is vital to what they do and their industry-leading products offer their processing customers a smooth and secure transaction environment. However, Heartland has been increasing their Non-PCI Compliant fees from an industry standard of $9.99 to a staggering $125.00/month. This substantial increase can easily be construed as a money-grabbing scheme.

Heartland’s Non-PCI Compliance fee, effective as of 07/2022, has been assessed to accounts that have not provided their PCI DSS compliance validation. This fee is reflected as a separate line item on merchant statements and will continue to be assessed monthly until compliance validation is provided.

PCI Compliance Simplified with Payment Collect

At Payment Collect, we prioritize making the PCI Compliance process easy for merchants, ensuring that you can focus on what matters most – growing your business. Our competitive rate of 0.4% on Non-EMV transactions offers a cost-effective alternative to Heartland’s hidden fees.

Furthermore, our “Start Saving Today” call-to-action in the global footer encourages merchants to request a free estimate, potentially lowering their costs and improving their savings. Explore our Knowledge Base for more information on EMV payment processing and PCI compliance.

Don’t get caught in the trap of hidden fees and complicated compliance processes. Choose Payment Collect for a simpler, more transparent solution that works for you.