CapAlt introduces merchant services programme

Captive Alternatives (CapAlt), an insurance consultancy, has introduced a new merchant services unit that allows membership associations to provide a fee-based merchant services programme to members and eliminate typical merchant services commissions.

"We are enabling membership associations to provide a valuable new benefit to their members," said David Kirkup, chief financial officer and chief operations officer of CapAlt.

"With this approach, membership associations will be able to make additional revenue while significantly cutting the cost for members who accept customer credit cards. We have been able to save 50 to 70 percent of the costs of member’s fees each year. We are targeting medical and dental associations as well a business and affiliate groups that want to offer valuable add-on services to their members."

Independent sales organisations frequently offer merchant services contracts that include processing, intermediaries, transaction costs and other add-ons. Now, the CapAlt Merchant Services Programme delivers a viable alternative because it allows membership associations to provide their members with a no commission programme with support from a national credit card processor.

Kirkup said: “This is truly disruptive because most merchant service programmes rely heavily on expensive commissions for funding.”

Under the CapAlt programme, a membership association would provide a branded merchant services programme to members. The merchant services programme would be supported by TransFirst, a payment processor that directly services accounts without expensive intermediaries.

TransFirst also would offer marketing support, web and direct mail, outbound sales, onboarding and ongoing priority customer service for the Association, and the Association would earn a portion of the merchant services program's annual fee.