#11: Visa and Mastercard raising fees, Pay with Prime available on Shopify, and Google joining OpenWallet foundation
Potential Card Network Fee Increase
Visa and Mastercard are planning to raise the fees that merchants pay for accepting credit cards, with changes scheduled to begin in October 2023 and April 2024. These adjustments, disclosed via documents from The Wall Street Journal, could result in an additional $502 million in annual fees, as estimated by CMSPI.
Last year, U.S. merchants collectively paid an estimated $93 billion in Visa and Mastercard credit card fees, marking a significant surge from approximately $33 billion in 2012. In practice, some of these costs are transferred to consumers, leading to higher prices.
Card networks like Visa and Mastercard set these fees, with network fees going to the card networks themselves and interchange fees directed to the issuing banks. Visa, Mastercard, and major banks argue that these fees cover expenses related to fraud prevention and innovation, with the proceeds often fueling credit card rewards programs. Read more.
Shopify enabled Buy With Prime checkout option
Shopify sellers can now offer Buy With Prime thanks to the partnership with Amazon Prime. With this integration, Amazon Prime members can now enjoy the same Prime delivery experience when shopping on Shopify.
This collaboration will allow Shopify sellers to access Amazon's vast customer base and logistics capabilities. Amazon's decision to offer its logistics services to smaller merchants on other e-commerce sites is part of a broader strategy of developing products for in-house use and then licensing them to other companies, similar to their palm-reading payments technology. Read more.
Google Joined OpenWallet Foundation
The OpenWallet Foundation (OWF) is thrilled to welcome Google as a premier member, reinforcing OWF's mission to promote open-source interoperability and innovation in digital wallets and payments.
Hosted by Linux Foundation Europe, OWF provides a collaborative platform for companies, non-profits, and the public sector to create open-source software for interoperable digital wallets.
Google now joins a diverse group of organizations within OWF, collectively working towards advancing digital wallet innovation and interoperability. Read more.