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Javelin Strategy & Research and the Electronic Payments Coalition, of which NAFCU is a member, released a report Thursday showing that small merchants are more concerned about value and less about price when it comes to the interchange fees that they pay for debit card transactions.

For the study, conducted in May to June 2016, Javelin asked 500 merchants with annual sales of less than $10 million if they were satisfied with the fees they pay for card acceptance and with their relationships with their partners in the interchange process.

Javelin found that merchants who understand the interchange process are overwhelmingly satisfied with the rates they pay and will pay more for greater benefits. The study also revealed that an insufficient understanding of interchange, not price, seems to generate merchant dissatisfaction.

Key findings from the study include:

• Consumers prefer debit and credit cards over all other types of payment methods.
• Merchants prefer credit cards to debit cards even though credit cards tend to have higher interchange rates.
• 66 percent of merchants are satisfied with what that they pay; 11 percent were dissatisfied.
• Debit fees do not harm small merchants. Even the very small percentage of unsatisfied merchants admitted interchange fees don't hurt their profitability.
• Two-thirds of all merchants understand interchange fees.
• 61 percent of merchants were unfamiliar with the details surrounding federal efforts to cap debit interchange fees.

NAFCU is encouraging its members to remain engaged with lawmakers on the repeal of the Durbin debit interchange amendment. To connect with lawmakers online, visit NAFCU's Grassroots Action Center.