Effective April 1, 2024, NEC will begin passing convenience fees for credit card transactions to the member. A $3.95 fee will be charged for transactions up to $300. For payments over $300, the fee will be tiered at $3.95 per each $300.
A convenience fee is a charge in addition to the transaction amount for the convenience of being able to use an alternative payment method. The fee is being charged by the credit card processing company to cover credit card transaction costs.
For years, NEC has absorbed these costs, but with increasing merchant banking services fees, it has become necessary to pass these fees on to the member.
In 2023 alone, Newberry Electric Cooperative paid close to $125,000 to cover these fees.
The charges will include transactions paid by Visa, MasterCard, and Discover.