Industry Case Studies

BlueSquare Resolutions is true blue

More than 50 years of management experience in the electronic payment industry with a track record of reducing merchant costs significantly;

Case Study Example #1

BlueSquare Resolutions discovered that 49% of a high-end health and fitness club�s recurring charges were downgrading; ultimately costing the club more per transaction than necessary. Captured over 5% in savings for the club's recurring charges, and nearly 8% savings for the main facility. Additionally and equally as significant, BlueSquare Resolutions developed a plan to monitor and correct these issues through daily monitoring and POS audits.

Case Study Example #2

BlueSquare Resolutions discovered savings of 20% annually for a large sports and entertainment facility. BlueSquare developed a plan using software data auditing to correct the downgrading of 10% of the facility's transactions. �

Case Study Example #3

BlueSquare Resolutions analyzed the statements for a publically traded, high-end national restaurant group and created a pricing plan that saves the group nearly $220,000 annually.

Case Study Example #4

BlueSquare Resolutions identified software and processing errors for major Las Vegas hotel/casino, reducing costs by more than $100,000 monthly.

Case Study Example #5

Due to simplification of BlueSquare's fee structure, a large restaurant holding company was able to reduce back office costs by 25% annually.

Case Study Example #6

BlueSquare Resolutions identified errors that cost a large theme park more than $3 million annually.

Case Study Example #7

BlueSquare reduced processing costs for a major TV-based retailer by more than $300,000 annually

Case Study Example #8

BlueSquare provided wireless terminals to the largest U.S. seasonal fireworks retailer (over 1,100 locations) in order to reduce fees for "card not present" transactions.

Case Study Example #9

Client: Large Petroleum and T&E Provider

Savings:$5 Million annually

Client requested BlueSquare to assist with interchange management. At the time the client was set up with over 60 different interchange rates and was paying hundreds of thousands of dollars a month in discount fees. A cost savings project was implemented by BlueSquare Resolutions which resulted in significant reduction of their interchange rate and fees by qualifying no more than 6 categories per Card Brand.

Case Study Example #10

Client: Company X is the largest retailer of diesel fuel in North America with approximately 270 locations in 41 U.S. States and six Canadian Provinces. Company X offers vehicle maintenance, banking, insurance, hotel and telecommunications services for the trucking industry as well as restaurants and c-stores in most locations. Company X was listed as number 20 in Forbes 500 Largest Private Companies in America with 2008 sales exceeding $18 billion.

Problem: Company X was looking to reduce their interchange costs.

Data Collection

Analyzed several years of Company X credit card processing statements from their provider to validate;

• Interchange classifications
• Pass through rates from associations
• Calculation methodologies
• Overall billing practices

Reviewed the merchant setup including;

• Analysis of SIC codes
• Merchant terminal setup
• Software parameters
• Timelines of transaction submissions

Findings

Company X was paying more than necessary in interchange fees. Additionally and equally as significant, Company X was not taking advantage of non-interchange related savings opportunities, due in great part to the fact that their processor did not identify the possibilities and make Company X aware of these opportunities.

Made recommendations related to Company X's transaction management after analyzing their business practices. Company X was classified as a "quick-serve" and "petro" merchant.

Recognized that any transaction including a grocery item would allow the entire transaction to be classified as "grocery," thus reducing interchange fees. Together, made the necessary adjustments making each terminal multi-merchant and establishing a grocery store classification.

Discovered that all locations that included a restaurant had seating. This allowed Company X to be classified as "fine-dining" versus "quick-serve", again creating additional savings for Company X.

In reviewing the timeliness of transaction submissions, it was discovered that Company X's funding could be reduced from three days to one day.

Company X transactions were downgrading unnecessarily. Offered and provided continued monitoring and identified locations with procedural and human error issues. Through monitoring, staff and management training and customized reports; have reduced downgrades.

Uncovered mathematical/calculation errors on past statements, costing Company X unnecessarily.

Discovered Company X was being charged fees that were discontinued industry-wide four years prior, again costing Company X unnecessarily.

Results

The Company X approach is used with each and every one of our clients. Interchange savings are only the beginning. We review multiple aspects of a merchants business and think outside of the box (but within the rules) to identify maximum savings for merchants. For Company X, currently a client for nearly four years, we are able to;

• Save Company X in excess of 27 basis points on interchange.
• Reduce payment acceptance costs by more than $5.4 million per year and more than $32.6 million over the life of the contract.
• Effectively save Company X the equivalent of $100 million in revenue generation.

Case Study Example #11

Client: Large Telecommunications Provider

Savings:$400,000 annually

Client was not qualifying at the optimal rate for their industry (Card Not Present) under the existing processor. Preliminary analysis indicated that 60% of the Visa transactions were downgrading to standard at 2.70% +.10. Upon further investigative analysis, it was discovered that the point-of-sale application being utilized by the client was not submitting an invoice number or requesting address verification which is a requirement for Visa's Card Not Present rate. Adjustments were made to the application in order support the required elements. The client is now qualifying at the optimal rate of 1.85%.

Processor F	BlueSquare Resolutions System
318,000 transactions	318,000 transactions
$9,000,000 monthly sales volume	$9,000,000 monthly sales volume
$31 average ticket	$31 average ticket
$190,000 (2.06% blended interchange)	$187,000 (1.71% + .10 - blended interchange)
$28,953.92 (non-qualified penalties)	18,000 (21.5 BP x $9M - discount fee)
$73,000 - ($.19 per transaction fee)	$8,325 (9.25 BP x $9M - assessment)
$291,253 (total fees)	$213,325 (total fees)
$.91 per transaction	$.67 per transaction