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TSG in Digital Transactions: Transaction Pricing Levels Out, According to a New TSG Report

Last conducted in 2016, the latest Third-Party Processing Pricing Benchmark Study from The Strawhecker Group indicates that debit and credit card transaction pricing appears to have leveled off. 

The average value of an IP-connected front-end authorization and capture action in 2020 is $0.016 for jumbo wholesale acquirers, or those with an aggregate of more than 3 million average monthly transactions, compared with $0.015 in 2016, the last time the study was produced. 

What’s behind this? It’s not one single factor. “Pricing strategy is never about a single line item, but all of the elements combined—authorization and settlement fees may be transaction-based but there are fixed, daily, and monthly fees that add to the overall cost of a transaction,” says Peter Michaud, director of consulting at Omaha, Neb.-based Strawhecker. For 2020, the report includes pricing benchmarks for the integrated channel and retail independent sales organizations. Continue reading.

Related: What Do Merchant Acquirers Pay to Third-Party Processors?