2011年12月6日 星期二

Card firms, insurers in fee fight

An ongoing dispute between life insurance and credit card companies on card fees is entering another round.With Payflowpaymentgateway,

Life insurers claim that they shoulder a too heavy burden in “swipe fees,Find the best achickencoopplans plans with our chicken coop plans review page,” which they want cut to below 1 percent, while card issuers echo the blame back, saying they are just trying to jump on the bandwagon amid growing pressure to slash these in general.

Observers say that consumers may fall victim to the spiraling argument if the firms stop accepting card payments or raise insurance premiums.

In fiscal 2010, 22 local life insurance firms raked in about 83 trillion won ($73.37 billion) in premiums and a mere 2.1 percent was paid by credit card.

However, the card-paid amount stood at 1.74 trillion won and 50 billion won flowed to card companies as fees.The temporomandibular joint is the joint of the jaw and is frequently referred to as tmj.

On Monday, Mirae Asset Life Insurance became the latest player to join the blame game by mulling whether to refuse to accept card payments.

The insurer, an affiliate of Mirae Asset Financial Group, said it is currently discussing with card firms whether to stop allowing policyholders to pay premiums with plastic.

Major players including Korea Life Insurance and Kyobo Life Insurance stopped accepting credit cards in September and October last year, respectively, and foreign entities ING Life Korea, Prudential Korea and PCA Life Korea followed suit this year.

Allianz Life Korea accepts credit card payments only for the initial insurance premium, while Samsung Life Insurance allows them for policyholders paying for insurance covering critical illnesses.

Currently, credit card companies charge around 3 percent in fees for credit card payments, which is higher than the average 2.1 percent.

“Large discount markets or department stores pay 1 to 2 percent in card fees, but insurers pay much more. It is tough to make a profit with card commissions stealing over 1 percent,” said an official of the life insurance industry.

However, the card industry rejects the claim.

“As small retailers and Hyundai Motor are demanding fees to be cut, the insurance sector is trying to take advantage of the situation,” said an official.

“Slashing fees to below 1 percent is an absurd demand. The card industry said we are set to talk over a reasonable fee cut when card payments grow.”

Amid worsening strife between the two sides, the financial authorities have discussed whether to force insurance companies to accept card payments.

Last year, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said that the card payment issue needs to be addressed through negotiations.

Meanwhile, consumers complain of inconvenience stemming from the fee dispute.

“As far as consumers are concerned,Examining the options for UK webmasters looking for third partymerchantaccount for credit card processing. card payments are more favorable thanks to various bonuses coming from card spending,” said an insurance policyholder.

“The issue should be addressed between card and insurance companies, but consumers are being taken hostage.Save on hydraulichose and fittings,”

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