[mcherm]

> businesses ultimately don't care about how easy it is to integrate but how much it costs.

For many large-scale businesses, the ongoing cost of a higher rate will overwhelm the startup costs of building it and you will be correct.

But that is not the only sort of business in the world. For many tiny businesses the startup costs exceed their available funds -- they would pay ANY rate so long as the profit from the new customers it brings exceeds the cost to existing customers.

For some startup companies, the savings in integration (both of dollars and more significantly savings of time) is a short-term cost to be minimized even if it means a larger cost in processing fees to be shouldered next month or next year. After all, if we don't get a demo out the door there won't BE a next month or next year.

And 2.9% + 0.30 really isn't all that high. It's high enough to hurt, but not high enough to drive away customers. For some, this amount really makes a difference and they can do better, but don't fall into the trap of assuming that EVERYONE is like that.