I was bowled over by a figure in The Home Depot's presentation at the Chicago Fed’s 2009 Payment Systems Conference this week:  The Home Depot paid more in interchange than for employee health care last year.  That’s astounding.  Interchange is The Home Depot’s third largest operating cost.  And this
is from a company that gets comparatively low interchange rates just by
being large.  Interchange is costing large, sophisticated merchants more than health care.  And the value it gives is questionable:  The Home Depot's interchange costs have risen 16% in recent years, while purchase volume has increased 10%.  [COMMENTS NOW OPEN.]

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