A new advertising campaign by eftpos aims to help small businesses lower their costs as they recover from the financial impacts of COVID-19.
The campaign is focussed on educating merchants on least-cost-routing for tap-and-go fees and claims that by routing payments via eftpos rather than international schemes (such as Visa and Mastercard), businesses could see significant savings.
The high cost of merchant fees for tap-and-go is a contentious issue in Australian retail. Earlier this month the RBA’s Assistant Govenrnor (Financial Systems) Michelle Bullock warned banks should better promote least-cost-routing options, noting businesses were reporting increased operating costs as consumers looked to contactless payments amid virus fears.
Earlier this year four of Australia’s leading retail associations joined forces to call for cheaper merchant fees, claiming retailers were charges hundreds of millions each year in fees routed through international networks.
CEO of eftpos Stephen Benton said businesses needed to look to protecting their cash flow in the current climate.
“There are many things outside their control such as labour costs and utility bills, but they may be able to reduce the cost of receiving payments by Least Cost Routing,” Mr Benton said.
“With debit cards accounting for more than 70% of card transactions in Australia and more consumers moving away from cash after COVID-19, routing has the potential to deliver significant savings for many thousands of small and medium businesses across the country. In turn, these cost savings could also flow to customers in the form of lower prices or reduced surcharges.”
This is the first significant advertising campaign by eftpos in three years and it will be run on outdoor, digital and social media platforms, radio and print publications.