Dbit Card charges

[#1]

Quote from: newagetraveller

How can it cost extra when staff are being paid anyway whatever they are doing?

But that is just the point.  If an organisation needs to store card details for reoccurring payments, then the ADDITIONAL IT overheads are massive and one way or another have to be paid for.  One might typically find that there is a systems management and security team dedicated to managing the systems which administer the payments.  Those costs apply equally to credit cards and debit cards.  The 8p cost (which from experience as a retailer / publican are more like 50p minimum, which we absorbed on transactions over £10) per credit card transaction is but the tip of the iceberg.  Such charges relate to the "volume" component of charges, do not include the acquirer service contract charges, nor those associated with the internal IT and additional specific security training costs.
Card payment processing agents (known as 'acquirers') require merchants to be fully compliant with the PCI-DSS standards and audited to the same every year.  The process is costly and any failure to be certified as compliant attracts higher transaction and contract charges.
Do you know anything about the requisite IT requirements?  I do, I have had to implement compliant systems - if you want a good bedtime read, go look here...

Quote

The PCI Security Standards Council offers robust and comprehensive standards and supporting materials to enhance payment card data security. These materials include a framework of specifications, tools, measurements and support resources to help organizations ensure the safe handling of cardholder information at every step. The keystone is the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), which provides an actionable framework for developing a robust payment card data security process -- including prevention, detection and appropriate reaction to security incide

Read https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/security_standards/documents.php?agreements=pcidss&association=...
If you think that can be delivered on 8p a transaction, then you really do not understand the problem.

[#2]

Quote from: newagetraveller

Quote from: jelv 8p is the direct charge Plusnet have to pay. Before you can say it's a nice earner you have to know how much extra it costs for extra staff time etc. processing these and dealing with the failures! How can it cost extra when staff are being paid anyway whatever they are doing? Sorry but the "extra staff time, administration etc." argument is totally invalid. Of course it's a nice little earner and could also be classed as a penalty charge for not using DD. I do use DD because it's convenient and any errors on PN's part are immediately reversible using the DD guarantee. I don't personally understand why customers use a card to pay monthly but they shouldn't be penalised for choosing to do so.

 
Long time ago now I spent time in a large financial sector company, that assessed  staff numbers required for the activities undertaken. You cannot assume that it's one member one job. Not infrequently the assessment results in one for more than one. Companies will also desire to avoid leaving slack in staff's days as that delays need for additional employees and associated costs.

[#3]

Off Topic but I was recently in Austria in a 4 star hotel
notices were posted at reception and in room information that - NO cards would be accepted for any sums less than Euro 50 - cash only below that.
It cost them money to process and to sort out the "problem ones" - simple