New Visa/MC mandatory merchant program?

[baycouples]

I was told by my bank that's providing a merchant account for me that Visa and MasterCard have implemented mandatory merchant programs geared toward preventing cardholder Fraud and Identity theft.

So, it's like $500/year to pay to some independent security company to make sure that your site is not hackable.

When I contacted another bank that I have a back-up account with - I had to drag it out of them, but it turned out to be true.

Anybody else is experiencing this?

[Shaze]

sorry to inform you that your right...it is now mandatory to pay the fee which is usually between $300-$1000 per year.