Year after year, the processing industry has seen an increasing number of fees implemented that impact merchants. This problem has compounded over time and has brought us to a point where the industry is literally infested with fees. We want to be one of the first to reverse this trend. We are pleased to announce a drastic reduction in the fees charged to our merchants, including many charges that have become standard in the industry. Over the last decade, Harbortouch has been a trendsetter in many respects, but primarily in product and service innovation. Hopefully this initiative will help us set new trends and standards in merchant satisfaction.

The first fee being eliminated is the company’s PCI compliance fee. PCI fees have become an industry standard since various data breaches caused the card associations to implement various requirements which resulted in increased overhead for processors. Harbortouch has decided to absorb the costs associated with PCI compliance in order to decrease the burden on merchants.

The next fee being eliminated is the company’s annual fee. When Harbortouch first introduced our free terminal program in 2004, the annual fee was implemented to account for the increased acquisition cost of a free terminal. This fee entitled the merchant to not only the free terminal, but guaranteed priority replacement and 24/7 customer support. Harbortouch merchants will still be able to enjoy these same benefits, but without the annual fee.

Another fee being removed is the IRS reporting fee. Recent legislative changes resulted in many processors and banks charging a fee for verifying Tax ID numbers and mandatory IRS reporting. Going forward, Harbortouch will absorb any costs associated with these requirements.

Lastly, we will be eliminating the cost previously associated with our supply program. Up until now, our merchants could opt in for this program which entitled them to a reasonable amount of processing supplies, such as receipt paper, for a monthly fee. Now, all Harbortouch merchants will be able to obtain a reasonable amount of supplies each month at no additional charge.