An Update on Heartland's Merchant Bill of Rights

"Mounting support of The Merchant Bill of Rights is a testament to the importance of educating merchants about what is often one of the most significant expense items on their income statements," explained Bob Carr, chairman and CEO of Heartland Payment Systems, the founding supporter of the initiative. "As consumer use of credit and debit cards continues to grow, empowering small and mid-sized businesses to learn how card acceptance works and take an active role in controlling processing costs is critical to their success."

"MerchantBillOfRights.com continues to attract an increasing number of visitors as The Merchant Bill of Rights gains traction with associations - as well as business owners," Carr concluded. "They all see the value in fair and equitable processing practices - and the significant impact controlling related costs can have on every organization's bottom line."

The Merchant Bill of Rights, proposed as an industry standard, exposes 10 fundamental rights:

1. The right to know the fee for every card transaction - and who's charging it.
2. The right to know the markup of Visa and MasterCard fee increases.
3. The right to know all Visa and MasterCard fee reductions.
4. The right to know all transaction middlemen.
5. The right to know all surcharges and bill-backs.
6. The right to a dedicated local service representative.
7. The right to encrypted card numbers and secure transactions.
8. The right to real-time fraud and transaction monitoring.
9. The right to reasonable equipment costs.
10. The right to live customer support 24/7/365.

For more information - and to support The Merchant Bill of Rights - visit MerchantBillOfRights.com.