One Princeton Debut in October, Merchants Association No Longer a Sponsor

The OnePrinceton Program, a parking/shopping card that will support local nonprofits, will launch in October, but business will no longer be required to join the Princeton Merchants Association as part of the initiative.

"On August 6, 2013, PMA withdrew sponsorship in response to the concerns of a group of non-profits who felt strongly that all OnePrinceton donations should be pooled and shared equally," read an email from Heartland Payment Processing, which will administer the program. "Consequently, OnePrinceton will launch with support from the Township of Princeton, many local independent merchants, and other business alliances that are very interested in promoting the 'Live Local. Give Local.' theme to its members and constituents.  However, no membership in any association or business alliance will be required."

PMA Member Jack Morrison said the OnePrinceton program will inclusive to everyone- regardless of membership to PMA- and will be for the betterment of the entire Princeton community. 

"We're a very healthy organization when we went back and rejuvenated, the board's efforts were really to improve Princeton's business community and the consumer from a bigger broader perspective," Morrison said, noting that PMA took a stand when the state's Department of Transportation tried to close the Route 1 jughandles and regularly pays to bag meters downtown so visitors can park for free. 

"We are in full support of the OneCard program," Morrison said. 

The refillable debit card/credit card and parking smart card is expected to not only save merchants money, but also tap into consumers' desire to support local businesses. 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. 

"...at the request of several local non-profits, Heartland is working to provide an option to allow consumers to pool donations equally among all non-profit participants," Heartland's email said. "However, Heartland recognizes the importance of allowing the consumers the right to choose which non-profit will benefit from their spending and supports a consumer’s right to allocate funds to the non-profits of their choice."

Heartland, 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.  

When consumers use the card to shop at a participating OnePrinceton merchant, one percent of each transaction will be donated to one or more local Princeton participating non-profit organizations.

“The purpose of bringing OnePrinceton to the community is to provide a tangible, beneficial resource to both local businesses and consumers to support a shop local incentive, while benefiting local non-profit organizations,” said Bob Carr, Chairman and CEO of Heartland Payment Systems.  “OnePrinceton’s ‘Live Local. Give Local.’ campaign has rapidly been gaining momentum and support throughout the community.”