Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Is MasterCard's new Ad Campaign Disengenuous? (WayTooHigh.com)

Sunday evening, on the ABC-TV network , during the biggest awards show, MasterCard Worldwide® will debut a series of tv spots to showcase how fast and convenient their PayPass® cards are. But, as a retailer and ecommerce business owner, there is an even more pronounced benefit: greed. With nearly $40 billion dollars in hidden merchant interchange taxes forced on consumers and retailers in each year, there is, in our opinion, a level of misrepresentation. More important than speed and convenience are the charges levied on consumers and merchants which in most cases are invisible, even though it can range as high as 5% and more for merchant interchange fees. A more priceless spot, which would win raves from retailers is if one of the commercials presented equal time for honestly depicting the hidden costs of their payment system.

[Commentary: WayTooHigh.com]