Shop Locally, Help Princeton Non-Profits

Princeton will soon launch a shop local buying program it hopes will become a national model.

In September, the Princeton Merchants Association will unveil a Community Card, a refillable debit card/credit card and parking smart card that will not only save merchants money, but also tap into consumers' desire to support local businesses.

At the same time, a percentage of every purchase will go directly to support Princeton non-profits.

Right now, a customer can walk into a Princeton store and make a $100 purchase. If the customer pays via debit card, the store will pay anywhere from 1.75 percent to 7 percent in card processing fees- more when a customer pays by credit card.

With the Princeton Community Card, participating merchants will pay a $0.05 transaction fee and funnel 1 percent of the purchase price directly to a Princeton non-profit organization of the customer’s choosing.

For the merchants, lower card processing fees will allow them to keep more money.

Shoppers can support their favorite businesses.

If a customer doesn’t designate a specific non-profit, the monies will be divided evenly across all of the participating organizations.

“As I see it, it’s a win, win, win for everyone,” said Carly Meyer, president of the Princeton Merchants Association.

Meyer and John Marshall, owner of Main Street Restaurant in the Princeton Shopping Center, presented the program to the Princeton Council on Monday. The council endorsed the idea. 

Heartland Payment Processing will administer the program. The company, which serves as a national intermediary for debit and credit card purchases, estimates that Princeton merchants currently funnel about $600,000 out of town in card processing fees.