The American Med Spa Association (AmSpa) Announces Partnership with Merchant Advocate in an Effort to Reduce Credit Card Processing Fees in the Med Spa Industry The partnership provides AmSpa’s members with exclusive access to Merchant Advocate’s expertise in navigating the complex world of credit card processing fees. The American Med Spa Association (AmSpa) announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Merchant Advocate, the nation’s premier advocate for businesses that accept credit cards, in an effort to reduce the unfair and deceptive practices rampant in the credit card industry. "We are thrilled to be a part of this partnership,” said Alex Thiersch, Founder and Director of AmSpa. "Credit card processing is a vital part of med spa owners’ businesses and a lot of our members are losing revenue to credit card processors without even knowing it. Merchant Advocate will help put an end to that.” Merchant Advocate, founded in 2007, represents businesses in negotiations with credit card processing companies and merchant banks. These processing companies and banks often charge hidden fees that businesses aren’t even aware of. By aggressively negotiating with processors and sales reps, Merchant Advocate can eliminate these fees and uncover hidden revenue. According to CEO Eric Cohen, Merchant Advocate’s average client saves over 35% when they use Merchant Advocate to negotiate their fees. "Merchant Advocate was formed to help protect small businesses,” said Cohen. "Through decades of experience and knowledge of the true cost of a credit card transaction, we’ve saved our clients thousands of dollars by stopping abuse from processors and unscrupulous sales representatives.” Merchant Advocate earns its fee only if money is saved for the client, so the upfront cost to the client is zero. And businesses don’t have to switch credit card processors, which can be a hassle, since Merchant Advocate negotiates with businesses’ current processor on the businesses’ behalf. According to Cohen, this model allows clients to retain Merchant Advocate risk free and without disruption. "Merchant Advocate’s service can be looked at as actually profit-making as they recover revenue that was otherwise lost,” said Cohen. As an added benefit, Merchant Advocate has offered to perform a free audit to AmSpa’s members, including providing a summary of potential cost savings. AmSpa, a national trade group that provides resources and education to aesthetic medical professionals, now includes this benefit in its basic membership package. "AmSpa members now have premier access to Merchant Advocate, and all new members will automatically be eligible for the free audit,” said Thiersch. For more information on AmSpa, please contact Gina Shaffer, Director Marketing and Business Development, at 312.981.0993, or via email at gshaffer@americanmedspa.org. For more information on Merchant Advocate, please contact Allie Lubart at 917.957.9073, or via email at alubart@merchantadvocate.com.