Compassion Anyone?

22 March 2011 Categories: Industry News

A little bit of a different spin in today’s blog post. It’s easy to get caught up in the everyday struggles of being a merchant and just trying to make a living at the end of the day. But in light of the recent events happening around the world, perhaps it’s time to take a step back to reflect on what’s most important.

The devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan a couple of weeks ago have left the country in ruins while the rest of us here in West stare in disbelieve and amazement. But many financial institutions have stepped up to give towards this worthy cause.

Moneris Solutions, the country’s largest merchant acquirer was the first to rise to this challenge. They announced last week that they will be waiving all processing costs for the following Canadian charities providing disaster relief efforts for Japan:

  • Canadian Red Cross
  • Care Canada
  • Humanitarian Coalition
  • Oxfam
  • Save the Children Canada
  • UNICEF
  • World Vision

“Canadians have always been compassionate in helping others, and we are confident that this time will be no exception,” said Jim Baumgartner, President and CEO of Moneris Solutions. “By waiving processing fees for Canadian charities involved in this cause, we hope to give every donor an extra reach to those affected by the disaster.”

The Red Cross was also pleased to announce that 10 financial institutions were participating by accepting cash donations.

These banks are:

  1. BMO Financial Group
  2. Canadian Western Bank
  3. CIBC
  4. HSBC Bank Canada
  5. ING DIRECT
  6. Laurentian Bank of Canada
  7. National Bank Financial Group
  8. RBC 
  9. Scotiabank
  10. TD Canada Trust

But it goes without saying that it would appear that Moneris’ gesture is the most telling and most generous at this point. And it’s also prudent to note that Moneris is only able to waive their processing fees for those charities. This does not mean that these charities will not have any fees charged to them as there will still be the Visa, MasterCard and American Express interchange fees. And the reality is, the interchange fee makes up the bulk of the total fees charged to merchants. Therefore, this act of generosity could go far in helping to provide additional transparency for Moneris and their pricing. When these organizations actually see what portion of the total fees the Acquirer is getting, this could be more beneficial for Moneris’ public relations than anything else. In addition, Moneris has also announced that it will be matching dollar for dollar all employee donations.

As of right now, no other Acquirer has stepped up to announce similar plans to aid the charities providing disaster relief.

And there has been no sign of Visa or MasterCard announcing the waiving of any of their fees, which would be a truly charitable act. But as we all know, we rely on the compassion we feel for one another as human beings and that’s big business.

So when thinking choosing of an Acquirer… perhaps another point to consider is how compassionate they are for others in need. It may dictate how they treat you as a customer.

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