Thanks to an intensive lobby by AcceptEmail MasterCard is announcing a flat fee of € 0,10 in Belgium for intracountry Maestro transactions effective as of 13 April 2012. This will create a level playing field for Belgian companies doing business abroad and who (want) to make use of electronic invoicing and payment. Up until now, companies were affected by the cost structure that European banks apply for using credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, Amex) or debit cards (Giropay, Dankort, Maestro, banc contact /MrCash) to facilitate online payments.
The reason for that is because a lot of European banks - including Belgium banks – are applying Ad Valorum pricing which means that a % of the billed amount is charged for online payment. This makes it really unappealing for Belgium companies to start replacing paper into digital invoices. The argument banks use for justifying these extra charges is that Internet transactions carry a higher potential risk of fraud, and therefore additional fees are required.
Nonsense, according to Peter Kwakernaak, CEO AcceptEmail: “There is no additional risk in case of electronic billing and payment because the debtor and creditor are usually in a long-term relationship. Thanks to the introduction of the new Maestro fees there should no longer be any reason for Belgium entreprises to introduce e-billing and payment via AcceptEmail for their company. We are ready for it.”