Payment Transparency Key in Auto Sales Amid FTC Scrutiny

One of the biggest missed opportunities in dealerships today is how payments are positioned. Too often, payments are treated as a final step instead of a strategic tool. The best operators use payment presentation to guide the customer, set expectations, and create clarity early in the process. That is how you reduce negotiation time and increase gross. There is also a major difference in how payments should be presented between new, used, and certified inventory. If your team is using the same approach across all three, you are leaving money on the table. We are going to unpack this in a practical, real-world way. 👉 How do you present payments today? (New vs Used) Certified 📅 April 27th at 11:00 AM If you are serious about improving performance, you should be in this session. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eNuKXDVD #DealershipProfit #AutomotiveSales #GrossProfit #SalesProcess #FandIStrategy #AutoRetail #CarDealers #AutoHubShow #CactusSky

One of the biggest missed opportunities in dealerships today is how payments are positioned. Too often, payments are treated as a final step instead of a strategic tool. The best operators use payment presentation to guide the customer, set expectations, and create clarity early in the process. That is how you reduce negotiation time and increase gross. There is also a major difference in how payments should be presented between new, used, and certified inventory. If your team is using the same approach across all three, you are leaving money on the table. We are going to unpack this in a practical, real-world way. 👉 How do you present payments today? (New vs Used) Certified 📅 April 27th at 11:00 AM If you are serious about improving performance, you should be in this session. Register here: https://lnkd.in/eNuKXDVD #DealershipProfit #AutomotiveSales #GrossProfit #SalesProcess #FandIStrategy #AutoRetail #CarDealers #AutoHubShow #CactusSky

One of the biggest missed opportunities in dealerships today is how payments are positioned. Too often, payments are treated as a final step instead of a strategic tool. The best operators use payment presentation to guide the customer, set expectations, and create clarity early in the process. That is how you reduce negotiation time and increase gross. There is also a major difference in how payments should be presented between new, used, and certified inventory. If your team is using the same approach across all three, you are leaving money on the table. We are going to unpack this in a practical, real-world way. 👉 How do you present payments today? (New vs Used) Certified 📅 April 27th at 11:00 AM If you are serious about improving performance, you should be in this session. Register here: https://lnkd.in/ehi-4xZb #DealershipProfit #AutomotiveSales #GrossProfit #SalesProcess #FandIStrategy #AutoRetail #CarDealers #AutoHubShow #CactusSky

As costs continue to rise across the auto industry, dealers are looking for smarter ways to preserve profitability. PayJunction’s Tom Harnetiaux recently spoke with CBT News about one approach gaining traction: rethinking payment strategies with transparency and compliance at the core. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/guD9ncNA

Did you know that even within your dealership, you can pay vastly different transaction fees when processing one single customer's card? Very few dealers know all the ins and outs of how cards work. Effective Rate. Interchange. Markup. PCI. And most dealers don't know the actions they can take (with their current merchant) to reduce your monthly processing bill. And yes, it's complex by design. Later on today at 1 Eastern we will break down some of these topics in plain English. Not theory. Not payment-industry alphabet soup. Practical stuff dealers can actually use. A few takeaways worth paying attention to: • Know your true effective rate. If you don’t know what you’re really paying, you can’t know whether you’re overpaying. • Use CVV and AVS correctly, especially on card-not-present transactions. It helps reduce risk and can help lower interchange costs. • How the card is accepted matters. Chip, swipe, and manually keyed transactions can all price differently, even when it’s the same customer using the same card. • Surcharge and cash discount programs are not the same thing. Both can have a place, but customer perception and compliance matter. • Small process mistakes can create downgrades, higher fees, and unnecessary risk. For powersports dealers, this is one of those “boring but profitable” topics. A few better habits at the counter, in service, and over the phone can add up quickly. Worth a watch if you’re trying to tighten up expenses without making the customer experience harder. This is another in the National Powersports Dealer Association's weekly partner series. No direct cost to you. Just information from Electronic Data Payment Systems to streamline your dealership operations and to make sure you maximize the money that hits your bottom line, not someone else's. https://lnkd.in/e4bzdTkn #Powersports #Dealers #DealershipOperations #FandI #FixedOps #NPDA

Your merchant statement shows obvious costs, but traditional processors hide charges that inflate your actual expenses significantly. Batch fees, statement fees, PCI compliance fees, chargeback fees, early termination fees, equipment rental, minimum monthly fees—it adds up to hundreds or thousands beyond the advertised rate. Many dealers don't realize these fees are often negotiable or eliminable entirely with the right processor or program. Discover the hidden costs in traditional #PaymentProcessing and how to reduce or eliminate them: https://lnkd.in/ewA2bB6N #AutoDealers #AutoDealership #CreditCardProcessor #CreditCardFees #SwipeFees

Most dealerships don’t realize it… 👉 Your payment system might be quietly costing you hundreds of thousands per year. We recently worked with a multi-location automotive & powersports dealership that thought their setup was “standard.” It wasn’t. Here’s what we found: • Outdated terminals • Hidden fees buried in statements • Poor interchange qualification • Zero visibility into true processing costs Sound familiar? Here’s what changed: ✔️ Rebuilt their payment stack ✔️ Optimized interchange (where the real savings live) ✔️ Upgraded equipment ✔️ Implemented a compliant surcharge program The result? 💰 Nearly 300 basis points in savings 📈 Increased service lane revenue (faster payment flow) 📊 Cleaner reporting + better financial visibility 🔧 Zero disruption to operations This is the part most dealers miss: Payments aren’t a fixed expense… They’re an optimization opportunity. ⚡ If you’re in automotive, ask yourself: • Do you actually know your effective rate? • When was the last time you evaluated your processor? • Are you optimizing debit routing—or defaulting to higher-cost rails? • Are your systems helping your service lane… or slowing it down? If there’s hesitation on any of those—there’s opportunity. 🔍 We’ll show you in 15 minutes: What you’re paying What you should be paying And how to fix it (without ripping anything out) 📩 Send over 2–3 months of statements. No cost. No pressure. Just clarity.

This is one of those areas most automotive dealers don’t think twice about… Payments. It’s just “part of the business,” right? But after digging into a number of dealership groups recently, one thing is clear: 👉 Most are overpaying — and don’t even realize it. Not because they made a bad decision… But because no one ever showed them what’s actually happening behind the scenes. Hidden fees. Missed interchange optimization. Outdated setups that quietly eat into margins. We just worked with a dealer group that was able to significantly reduce costs and improve cash flow—without changing how they operate day to day. That’s the key. No disruption. Just better outcomes. If you’re in automotive and haven’t looked at this in a while, it’s probably worth a quick conversation. Happy to take a look and give you a straight answer either way.

The variability in dealership "doc fees" can be staggering, with some charging over $2,000 while others maintain a much lower, transparent rate like $280. It’s crucial to be aware that many dealerships can obscure significant costs within these fees. This disparity highlights the importance of due diligence when purchasing a vehicle, ensuring you understand the total cost beyond the sticker price. Transparency in pricing, especially regarding ancillary fees, builds trust and a better customer experience. #DealershipFees #CarBuyingTips #ConsumerAwareness #AutomotiveIndustry #Transparency

Want to improve profitability without massive operational changes? Focus on high-impact areas where strategic adjustments deliver results. Optimize F&I performance—even small per-vehicle improvements add up fast. Improve service department efficiency—it's a major profit center. Streamline inventory to reduce carrying costs. Eliminate credit card processing fees—immediate bottom-line impact. Each strategy is achievable within a quarter and compounds when implemented together. Learn four strategies to boost #dealership profitability you can start implementing this quarter: https://lnkd.in/eEXwnk5f #AutoDealership #AutoDealers #CarDealership #PaymentProcessing