For
Distribution on January 3, 2007
National Payment
Card LLC announces agreement with Murphy Oil USA, Inc. to implement
Driver’s License ACH payment system to break the Credit/Debit
Card Processing Stranglehold
National Payment Card System
substantially reduces credit and debit card fees
Boca Raton, Fla. – (December
28, 2006) – National Payment Card LLC, an electronic funds
payment service bureau that interfaces with Point of Sale (POS)
systems, announced today that it signed an agreement with Murphy
Oil USA, Inc. to institute its patent pending technology that substantially
reduces card acceptance costs at selected Murphy Oil USA retail
outlets. The National Payment Card PIN based payment system processes
transactions through the Federal Reserve Automated
Clearing House (ACH) resulting in lower merchant fees and a self-funded
loyalty program that provides immediate savings at the pump for
consumers.
When fully deployed, Murphy Oil USA customers in twelve
states (TX, FL, SC, VA, LA, AR, MS, OH, MI, WI, MN, IA) will be
able to participate in the program allowing them to pay at the pump
or in-store using a driver’s license with a magnetic stripe
that will be tied to their checking account. When the sale is made,
an electronic check is debited from the customer’s account
and is processed through the Federal ACH System that handles billions
of transactions per quarter. The vendor settlement is the next business
day. The system is cheaper, costing only a fraction of what Murphy
normally pays in merchant service fees, because the funds come directly
from the consumer’s bank account, removing the middlemen in
the credit card and debit card networks altogether. Murphy expects
to rollback some of that savings directly to consumers. In all,
Murphy Oil USA has approximately 984 stations located in 21 states
and is growing at approximately ten percent per year.
“Credit card fees are one of our biggest
costs and we have been constantly trying to find new and creative
ways to reduce their impact on our operation while at the same time
seeking ways to build better relationships with our customers,”
said Bill Deichler, Manager of Financial Services of Murphy Oil
USA, Inc. “When National Payment Card presented their service
to us, we knew immediately that if it were secure and trustworthy,
we could create something that would be a win-win for Murphy and
our customers. We believe this program will prove that case for
us and we’re excited to get it underway.”
“The driver’s license payment program
presents a unique opportunity for Murphy Oil USA, Inc., giving Murphy
an instant card deck for millions of consumers who can enroll in
the program without the cost of issuing new cards,” said Peter
Guidi, Vice President of Sales for National Payment Card. “The
consumer will have the convenience of a card that is already in
their wallet or purse”.
According to National Payment Card, there are about
150 million Americans carrying driver’s licenses with magnetic
stripes across 24 states. Those states represent approximately 61%
of the nation’s gas stations. Currently, credit card fees
represent the third largest store expense for merchants with 60-70%
of all purchases involving credit or debit cards.
National Payment Card’s charge to merchants
is a flat-fee of 15 cents per transaction on a loyalty card and
17 cents on a sale to a third party card or driver’s license.
Those figures represent a 60-80% savings over the current standard
processing fee. Pinnacle Corp, a leading POS vendor has already
added National Payment Card to its product payment modules and Verifone
has also certified the National Payment Card interface to work with
its Ruby /Sapphire POS.
About National Payment Card
National Payment Card (www.nationalpaymentcard.com),
based in Boca Raton, FL, is an innovative marketer of ACH card-based
payment systems. The company’s primary product is the Payment
Card, a retailer branded program that provides consumers access
to funds in their checking accounts so they can pay for goods or
services. The Payment Card is not a credit or debit card that is
linked through the national banking networks, but rather utilizes
a user ID for consumer authentication and is processed through the
National Payment Card ACH Payment Card network. A Payment Card can
be a loyalty card, a membership card or driver’s license.
National Payment Card has filed a series of patent applications
for methods of payment processing with a driver’s license.
National Payment Card is a member of the EFT Network
which is a part of the Electronic Check Council of NACHA. NACHA
is the rule-making body for all electronic funds transfers made
through the ACH.
For more information about the Murphy Oil USA,
Inc./National Payment Card agreement and for more information about
National Payment Card LLC, please contact Shep Doniger at 561-637-5750
or visit www.nationalpaymentcard.com.
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