Driving down
processing fees

Client overview

Jeff Schmitt Auto Group is a network of nine dealerships serving the greater Dayton, Ohio area, representing brands such as Chevrolet, Nissan, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Cadillac and GMC. Led by president Jay Schmitt, the group has built a strong reputation for exceptional customer service, repair and maintenance. Despite that success, the group faced a significant challenge with credit card processing fees, a notoriously complex and opaque area of expense management.

"I've honestly never dealt with any industry that has such a lack of transparency. It's next to impossible to tackle on your own."

The challenge

Jay and his team had a solid relationship with their existing payment processor, but they struggled to determine if their rates were truly fair. Every attempt to compare invoices or negotiate rates led to frustration:

• –Complex fee structures. Renaming and shifting fees made it difficult to track monthly changes or compare year-over-year costs.
• –Embedded systems. Switching processors was never an option, given the dealership's integrated Dealer Management System and solid vendor relationship.
• –Perceived lack of options. Despite repeated attempts to negotiate or pit vendors against one another, clear, consistent savings never materialized.
• –Time and expertise constraints. Managing nine dealerships leaves little time for dissecting the ever-changing, technical details of processing fees.

What VeriFee did

Referred by a fellow business owner, Jay initially worried that an outside firm might complicate matters or strain the good operational relationship with his current processor. VeriFee's transparent, performance-based approach alleviated those concerns:

1. 01
   No upfront costVeriFee's fee is a percentage of the savings secured. If they don't save the client money, the client pays nothing.
2. 02
   Quick, streamlined data collectionJay uploaded recent statements and introduced VeriFee to the processor's point of contact. VeriFee's analysts and proprietary tools handled the rest.
3. 03
   No operational disruptionVeriFee worked directly with the existing processor. No new hardware, no software changes, no staff retraining.
4. 04
   Ongoing monitoring and course correctionWhen the processor later tried to implement higher pricing than agreed, VeriFee caught the discrepancy immediately and secured a credit.

"Our processor stayed the same, our hardware stayed the same, our internal processes all stayed the same. My total time involved was less than an hour."

The results

• –Nearly 60% off non-interchange fees, the negotiable portion of the processing cost.
• –$60,000 in annual savings across the group's nine dealerships.
• –Under one hour of effort from Jay, a brief introductory call and uploading statements.
• –Immediate issue resolution. Monthly monitoring caught a pricing discrepancy early and secured a prompt credit from the processor.

"VeriFee did exactly what they said they would do, exactly when they said they would do it. And if I can save $60,000 with an hour of my time, that's a pretty easy decision."

Key takeaways

• 01Substantial savings without switching. The group kept the same processor and in-store processes, avoiding any technical or operational hassle.
• 02Transparency in a complex industry. VeriFee confirmed Jay's suspicion that hidden fees creep back in without diligent monitoring.
• 03Minimal client involvement. Jay and his team stayed focused on running the dealerships.
• 04A no-risk partnership. VeriFee only earns a share of the savings it delivers, guaranteeing positive ROI.
• 05Timely corrections. Continuous monitoring caught unapproved pricing and secured a credit right away.

Through a transparent, data-driven approach, VeriFee delivered a roughly 60% reduction in non-interchange fees for Jeff Schmitt Auto Group, equating to $60,000 in annual savings. With virtually no disruption to existing operations, Jay and his team secured meaningful cost reductions in an area they previously believed was impossible to optimize further.

“If I could save $60,000 by spending an hour of my time, what do you have to lose?”