Murphy USA Gas Discounts Pumped By Brand Debit Cards

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- Murphy USA is taking steps to implement systemwide Murphy-branded PIN debit cards at more than 1,000 stations -- starting in 111 stores in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston -- and as a result of lower interchange fees, it is rewarding consumers who use the card with a 1-cent-per-gallon discount on gas, Tempo Payments Inc. reported.

Murphy USA's partnership with the Tempo Payment Network is meant to shift payments away from bank-issued credit and debit cards. High card-acceptance fees from MasterCard and Visa have dramatically impacted profits for U.S. gasoline and convenience stores, with gas retailers paying about 2 percent of the cost of each transaction.

"Few consumers realize that MasterCard and Visa card issuers tack on hidden charges that merchants are forced to pass on to their customers," Tempo CEO Mike Grossman stated in the release.

And with increasing gas price hikes, credit and debit interchange fees were expected to be more than $40 billion in 2006, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF). This figure is up from $30.7 billion in 2005.

"Tempo's nationwide payment network enables us to reduce certain transaction costs and share the savings with our customers," stated Bryan Botkin, manager of special services at Murphy USA, according to Tempo.

Murphy USA Marketing Co. is the retail sales end of Murphy Oil USA, operating across 21 states in the U.S. Murphy USA debit card holders can use the card to make purchases at more than 200,000 merchant locations in the U.S. taking part in the Tempo Payment Network.
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