PIN Debit

A PIN-debit, also called an online debit, refers to a transaction where a customers pays for products or services by providing their debit card for an electronic data capture, and then enters their personal identification number (PIN).

A PIN-debit transaction is not charged the same percentage rates and transaction charges that a regular credit card transaction is charged. Instead, PIN-debit transactions are charged a flat fee, called a PIN debit fee. A PIN debit fee is typically around $0.20 - $0.60, but it can vary substantially depending on the merchant service provider and the debit network provider.

PIN-debit charges can be a little tricky to calculate if you are not taking into consideration additional debit network charges. Merchant service providers will charge a PIN-debit fee, and the debit network provider such as STAR, NYCE, or Pulse will also charge a network access fee.

Some merchant service providers include the debit network access fee in the PIN-debit fee, so you will not incur any additional network charges to run an online debit transaction. Other merchant service providers (possibly in an effort to make their fees appear lower than the competition's) will not include the debit network fee in their PIN-debit fee. Providers that don't include the debit network fee in their PIN-debit charges will appear to have a lower PIN-debit fee than merchant service providers that do include network charges; but this is often not the case once both fees are added together for the final charge.

A PIN-debit fee is charged when you swipe a customer's debit card and then have them enter their PIN number in to a PIN-pad. You will be charged a PIN-debit fee to process this type of transaction. The PIN-debit fee that you will be charged, may or may not include a debit network access fee that is charged by the network provider like those mentioned above.

When researching different merchant service providers, you should specifically ask each provider whether or not their PIN-debit fee also includes network charges. If you already have a merchant account, you should look at you statements to see whether or not you are being charged additional fees from debit network providers.