In January 2014, Visa expanded and changed the name of their Government and Education Payment Program. The latest changes create new opportunities for K-12 schools to use cost-neutral options for accepting credit and debit cards.

1. New VISA Opportunity for
Cost-Neutral Tuition
Acceptance
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No part of this document may be reproduced or distributed without Diamond Mind’s express consent.
The settlement rules are subject to change. This was last updated February 28, 2014.

2.  Current cost-neutral options for accepting tuition
payments by credit card
 What’s new for 2014—an in-depth look at the new
rules and how they impact schools
 Tools and resources to decide which approach
works best for your school

3. Check-Out /
Surcharge
Fee Program
Discount for
Cash Program
Convenience /
Service Fee
Program
* Check with legal counsel if you are in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Texas

4.  Percentage fee on all credit cards
 No % may be charged on debit
 No restrictions on type of payment
 3rd party cannot collect for schools
 Must be done in one single transaction
 The % fee is capped at 4%
 30 day notification of intent to surcharge

5.  Explicitly permitted in Merchant Service Agreement
 Proper labeling is essential
 Allowed in all 50 states*
* Check with legal counsel if you are in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Texas
http://usa.visa.com/personal/get-help/checkout-fees.jsp

6. Full Amount
Discounted
Amount
$20,550 $20,000
Wonderful Day School
* 2.75% Effective Rate

7.  MasterCard, Discover and American Express
 Charge % on both credit cards AND debit cards
 No VISA
 Tuition, board and related fees
 3rd party can collect for schools
 Schools only*
* Applicable to Government, Utilities and Higher Education

8.  Effective January 15, 2014
 Schools can now either choose to collect the fees themselves, or
they can have a 3rd party collect the fee for them
 Fee is applicable to credit AND debit cards for tuition, board and
related services
 45 day notice given to VISA
 Payment and fee must occur as two separate transactions using
two separate merchant accounts
 Must be clearly labeled: ―School Name*Service Fee‖
- School Name Formatted to 3, 7 or 12 characters

9. • Several schools in the 10 states* previously mentioned have
used DFC because their legal advisors have determined that it is
the best option available for cost-neutral tuition acceptance.
Discount for
Cash
• Many schools used SF for cost-neutral tuition acceptance
because they wanted to accept all types of credit cards –
including VISA. In the past, VISA did not allow percentage-based
convenience fees; SFs enabled schools to accept ALL credit
cards in a cost-neutral way.
Surcharge Fees
• Many schools choose this option because they want to simplify
their reconciliation process by outsourcing fee collection. This
option can only be used with MC, Discover and AMEX.
Convenience
Fees
• We anticipate schools will choose this option because they want
to simplify their reconciliation process by outsourcing fee
collection. This option can now be used with all credit card types
-- MC, Discover, AMEX and VISA.
Service Fees
* California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Texas

10. If You Want to:
Service Fee
(formerly convenience
fee)
Surcharge Discount for Cash
Make credit card acceptance cost-
neutral
  
Accept all credit card brands

(New as of 1/15/14)
 
Apply fee to all types of purchases,
beyond tuition and board
(Not recommended for donations)
Limited to tuition, board and
related fees
 
Accept debit and prepaid cards  No 
Have a third party collect the fee  No No
Know the requirements to implement
• Limited to tuition, board and
related fees
• 45 day notice to VISA & MC
• 30 day notice to VISA &
MC
• 4% max charge
• Single transaction
Properly label invoices and
published pricing
Operate in one of the 10 states* Check with your legal counsel
Check with your legal
counsel
Check with your legal
counsel
* California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Texas

11. Access this valuable tool at www.diamondmindinc.com

12.  New VISA Opportunity for Tuition:
http://www.diamondmindinc.com/new-visa-opportunity-for-tuition/
 Fee Assessment Worksheet:
http://info.diamondmindinc.com/fee-assessment
 Send an email to info@diamondmindinc.com
 Give us a call: (888) 566-0945
Available Online
Questions?