Tartan Financial Services, LLC provides financial solutions and healthcare consulting services for businesses in North Carolina.  Our focus is on expense reduction and control, and cost recovery methodologies.  The most recent addition to our consulting service line is providing merchants with equitable credit card transaction pricing and treatment through a coalition called Merchants Against Unfair Interchange (MAUI).  MAUI is 100% focused on enhancing the bottom line of merchants by reducing credit card interchange/swipe fees. This is accomplished by insuring compliance with interchange rules.  For additional information about MAUI, visit their web site, www.stophiddenfees.us/ .

We are NOT credit card processors.  We actually work with  a merchant's processor to insure compliance with the interchange rules that MasterCard and VISA publish.  Most merchants are not treated fairly with respect to these Interchange fees, which flow directly to the card issuing banks.  We do not have a fee structure. Our fee is a percentage of the measurable savings.  We return at least 50% of these savings back to the merchant each month.

All we need to determine if a merchant is being treated fairly or unfairly is a copy of the merchant's most recent monthly credit card processing statement. If the merchant is being treated unfairly, we will develop a Merchant Business Assessment that outlines the potential cost reduction that will impact the merchant's bottom line.

Below is an outline with respect to how the Interchange/swipe fee reductions are accomplished, why businesses utilize MAUI, and what MAUI has achieved.  For additional information about credit card Interchange/swipe fees,  please visit the Credit Card Fees tab of our website.

How does MAUI achieve the Interchange/swipe fee reduction?

• Interchange fees charged to businesses are not regulated by the government, and have tripled since 2001 to around $37 billion per year.  Additionally, the transaction fees change every April and October for MasterCard and VISA.
• Businesses lack the time and expertise to identify and audit unfair Interchange fees that are present in their monthly credit card processing statement.
• MAUI has retained Interchange consultants who help merchants realize an 8% - 20% reduction in their Interchange fees without changing credit card processors, current equipment, or operations.
• MAUI Interchange consultants are not affiliated with any bank or credit card processor. Our Interchange consultants work with a merchant's current credit card processor to point out and fix unfair Interchange fees.
• Our fee is a percentage of the measurable savings.  We return at least 50% of these savings back to the merchant each month. 

  What has MAUI achieved?

  • Since 2008 MAUI has uncovered $6.4 million of unwarranted Interchange fees for merchants.
  • MAUI has determined that 93% of businesses analyzed are treated unfairly.
  • MAUI has returned at least 50% of unfair Interchange fees back to merchants with no change or effort on their part.