What is the thought about credit card fees being charged by J&J?

[Stuart Greenberg]

We need to put pressure on J&J to get rid of this new fee. 3% on paying with credit cards. How is this even legal? How do we survive if we need to increase our fees again? Being an independent OD, it is essential we get points on our cc and not have to pay immediately.

 

[AdminWolf]

We need to put pressure on J&J to get rid of this new fee. 3% on paying with credit cards. How is this even legal? How do we survive if we need to increase our fees again? Being an independent OD, it is essential we get points on our cc and not have to pay immediately.

Just to play devil's advocate for J&J here, that's probably the rate that they are paying their processor. Even in the best-case when you are doing "card not present" transactions -- and especially with corporate cards and AmEX cards, which i'm guessing lots of their customers are using -- there is just no way to get the fees lower. Someone has to pick up the tab unfortunately.

 

[Gretchyn Bailey]

I'm surprised if J&J is the only big company NOT adding a credit card processing fee, given today's climate.

 

[AdminWolf]

I'm surprised if J&J is the only big company NOT adding a credit card processing fee, given today's climate.

So typically everyone just builds the cost into the price, so it is invisible. It is interesting that J&J would offer differential pricing -- how else can you pay for your product with them? ACH? Check?

 

[Scott Blahnik]

I order J&J through E-Dr, which allows me to pay by credit card (Chase Ink paying 2%). I assume E-Dr. is absorbing the cost?

 

[Andrew Gore]

Usually I pay J&J on their website via ACH and I do not think there is any fee for that.

 

[Scott Blahnik]

On the flip side, I could consider adding a fee for credit card payments myself.

 

[David Gregory Luce]

I'm surprised if J&J is the only big company NOT adding a credit card processing fee, given today's climate.

What is it about today's climate that makes this so? I don't know how much supply chain and even foreign tariffs effect their manufacture of contact lenses in Jacksonville, FL. Could be a lot, I didn't see any letter from them regarding this new credit card fee, maybe they expressed today's climate in their letter.

I don't pay them by credit card. I do notice they have the most expensive lenses in the market. R&D and innovation and getting lenses to market is expensive to be sure.

If JNJ Vision is paying 3% on credit card processing fees that would be amazing. Could be, but my goodness they may just have to change processors. I pay less than that with the ubiquitous Square processing.

On the flip side, I could consider adding a fee for credit card payments myself.

I haven't really considered that, I know a lot of small businesses do, so you would not be an outlier.

So typically everyone just builds the cost into the price, so it is invisible. It is interesting that J&J would offer differential pricing -- how else can you pay for your product with them? ACH? Check?

If they baked that in, of course they did, they won't take it out of the lens price, now they create a new revenue above and beyond, sneaky.

 

[Jeff Guthrie]

What is it about today's climate that makes this so? I don't know how much supply chain and even foreign tariffs effect their manufacture of contact lenses in Jacksonville, FL. Could be a lot, I didn't see any letter from them regarding this new credit card fee, maybe they expressed today's climate in their letter.

I don't pay them by credit card. I do notice they have the most expensive lenses in the market. R&D and innovation and getting lenses to market is expensive to be sure.

If JNJ Vision is paying 3% on credit card processing fees that would be amazing. Could be, but my goodness they may just have to change processors. I pay less than that with the ubiquitous Square processing.

I haven't really considered that, I know a lot of small businesses do, so you would not be an outlier.

If they baked that in, of course they did, they won't take it out of the lens price, now they create a new revenue above and beyond, sneaky.

As Adam said above, card not present transactions are much more expensive, this reflects the higher rate of fraud for card not present.

 

[David Gregory Luce]

As Adam said above, card not present transactions are much more expensive, this reflects the higher rate of fraud for card not present.

Adam is big time, but JNJ Vision is maybe a bit bigger. He says there is no way to get rates lower, for him, not for JNJ me thinks.

Just to play devil's advocate for J&J here, that's probably the rate that they are paying their processor. Even in the best-case when you are doing "card not present" transactions -- and especially with corporate cards and AmEX cards, which i'm guessing lots of their customers are using -- there is just no way to get the fees lower. Someone has to pick up the tab unfortunately.

 

[Gretchyn Bailey]

When I referred to today's climate, I meant that many many merchants are now adding a credit card processing fee.

 

[AdminWolf]

Adam is big time, but JNJ Vision is maybe a bit bigger. He says there is no way to get rates lower, for him, not for JNJ me thinks.

I am ... what is the opposite of big-time? Small-fry?

Every part of the chain wants their pound of flesh, so even large corps like JJVC are at the mercy of the transaction processors, the credit card network, and ultimately the commercial banks behind all of it.

3% may sound extreme, but consider literally every single transaction they are doing is "card not present" (with the obligatory "F-U fee" that banks associate with it), and Amex as a rule charges a much higher discount rate, which gets baked into the overall average (lots of docs use AmEx in their businesses -- this I know from CEwire.)

So even if the average cost was 2.5% and JJVC is building in, say, 0.5% for their "vig"/hassle of having to maintain an ecommerce portal capable of running this stuff reliably, it probably isn't a windfall.

If anyone deserve closer scrutiny, it is the credit card oligopoly that we're all stuck with.