Who could have imagined that the giant MasterCard could have as much impact as the FDA on the regulation of vaping? Last week, MasterCard emailed businesses that process their cards to update its policy. So let's talk about the main changes made and the impact that will follow.
EXORBITANT REGISTRATION FEES
MasterCard will now charge $ 500 registration fee per year to companies in the vaping sector. This will apply even if you have a lot of customers and have worked with Mastercard for years.
THIS WILL DOUBLER SEE TRIPLER SHIPPING COSTS
For "standard" orders, you can already expect to pay $ 3 to $ 7 in shipping costs. And yes, with the new requirement for an adult signature upon receipt, the price of an expedition could double. For example, USPS which is the most used service in the United States requests 5,95 $ fee for this famous signature, UPS invoices $ 5,25 and Fedex can invoice up to $ 4,75. If you are not at home to receive and sign, then you will have to re-plan a passage.
THE AGE TO VAP? IT'S 21 YEARS!
You have between 18 and 20 years old and you live in a state that allows you the right to vaper ? Well thank you MasterCard because they have just removed the possibility of ordering online. With MasterCard's new signature on delivery requirement, you will need to be at least 21 years of age and have valid government issued identification to sign the USPS, UPS, or FedEx voucher.
So obviously, a lot of people are saying to themselves and well either, we are going to use another credit card like Visa or Amex, unfortunately the software that online sites use cannot determine the type of card you are using, thus, all of them. transactions will have to follow this new procedure.
THE ORIGINAL MAIL SENT BY MASTERCARD
- Age Restrictions are implemented- merchants must perform physical age verifications in online stores and electronic verifications
- Merchant Category Code (MCC) must be 5993
- Merchants must meet all new FDA requirements for labeling, marketing, advertising, promotion, and manufacturing. More information on FDA can be found here: www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts
- Ensure merchants selling e-cigarettes and vape products meet all states and federal law requirements. Please note that state laws may vary. More information can be found here: http://publichealthlawcenter.org/resources/us-e-cigarette-regulations-50-state-review
- Additional requirements for Card-Not-Present e-cigarette and vape merchants:
- MasterCard which costs $ 500 / year by merchant, effective January 15, 2017
- Merchant must have a health warning label visible on the website on the harms of nicotine use
- Adult signature required upon delivery
- Billing terms must be clearly disclosed on the merchant's website
-
Legal Compliance Verification - This is a written opinion of an independent, reputable, and qualified attorney or accreditation by a recognized third party, ie FDA, TVECA, or state agencies. The Legal Compliance Verification must be in the nature of the merchant's business practices.
-
Acceptance of an annual $ 500 registration fees required by MasterCard; An approved agreement will be available for merchant signature.
-
Implementation of real-time batch procedures to monitor multiple simultaneous transactions using the same account number and consecutive or excessive attempts using the same account number.
-
Merchant must maintain a total loadback to interchange sales volume ratio below ECP thresholds.
In order to counter these new measures, a petition has been posted on Change.org, the goal being to denounce this anti-vape policy put forward by Mastercard.
Source : onlyeliquid.com
