CARPINTERIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--General purpose and private label credit, debit, and prepaid cards generated $5.165 trillion in payments for goods and services in 2014. Processing fees, including interchange paid by U.S. merchants to handle that business, were $78.09 billion, up from $72.44 billion in 2013 when fees were $4.768 trillion, according to the annual report on U.S. merchant processing fees published by The Nilson Report, the top trade newsletter covering the card and mobile payment industries.
The weighted average of fees as a percentage of purchase volume from Visa and MasterCard credit, debit, and prepaid cards, American Express credit and prepaid cards, Discover credit, debit, and prepaid cards, EFT system PIN-based debit cards, and private label credit and debit cards was 1.51% in 2014. The weighted average was 1.52% in 2013.
"Fees merchants pay to process card payments rise annually because Americans use their credit, debit, and prepaid cards more each year," comments David Robertson, Publisher of The Nilson Report.
Debit cards settled on the Visa, MasterCard, and PIN-based EFT system networks generated $2.279 trillion in purchase volume in 2014, and accounted for 44.1% of all spending on goods and services. This was down from 44.7% one year before. Debit cards generated $16.72 billion or 21.4% of the total processing fees paid by merchants in 2014. Debit cards accounted for 21.9% of all card processing fees paid by U.S. merchants in 2013.
About The Nilson Report
The Nilson Report is a highly respected source of global news and analysis of the card and mobile payment industries. The subscription newsletter provides rankings and statistics on the current state of the industry, as well as company, personnel, and product updates. David Robertson, Publisher of The Nilson Report and a recognized expert in the field, is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and is regularly quoted in publications worldwide. Over 18,000 readers in 90 countries value The Nilson Report.
This report is found in Issue 1,065, published June 16, 2015. Contact Lori Fulmer at lfulmer@nilsonreport.com for a complete copy of this newsletter.
