<p>Cnp55 - you made me do a Google search. You are right</p>
<p>[Minimizing</a> Confusion Over Minimums | Visa?s Blog ? Visa Viewpoints](<a href=“Visa, a trusted leader in digital payments”>Visa, a trusted leader in digital payments)</p>
<p>I will not shop at merchants that require minimum purchases for using a credit card. I pay for 100% of my purchases on credit. Most merchants in my area do not accept checks, and I don’t carry cash.</p>
<p>I run a small business that accepts ccs. It clearly states in our contract with V/MC that we are not supposed to charge a fee for accepting the cc. Just for information, on a $50 purchase paid by check, it costs a few pennies in bank charges to deposit that check, the cc fee (a %) is over $1 for that same transaction. </p>
<p>I’m sure larger business simply build it into the cost of merchandise for everyone. </p>
<p>However, there are probably all kinds of ways to get around it. For instance, we offer on-line payment with a (<$5) “convenience fee.” This fee goes primarily for paying the cost of have the on-line service but it also helps pay for the cc fees. However, if people pay by mail/faxed cc, they are not charged anything more. </p>
<p>I think this is something that is not enforced and V/MC would probably only do something about enforcing it if the business was big enough that it would really mean something.</p>
<p>There may be a loophole or agreement that certain entity can charge a fee for using cc. The US government charges a fee for us to use cc to pay taxes.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>While the bank may not charge much to deposit the check, you don’t know if the check is any good. A certain percentage of your checks will come back as non-sufficient funds or stop payment. Not only are you out the money, the bank hits you with a bad check fee. With credit cards, you’re guaranteed of getting the money unless the card is stolen or the customer disputes the charge.</p>
<p>While merchants hate fees (we all do) few merchants these days are willing to go on a cash and check only basis…and few merchants in my area even take checks because they’ve been burned a few too many times.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Small businesses build it into the cost of merchandise the same way large businesses do. It’s no different than telephone bill, water bill, electric bill, merchandise cost, health insurance, internet access fees, and all of the other expenses that go into running a small business.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The US government does NOT charge a fee to pay taxes on credit card. Outside vendors (who take the payment) charge a fee and pass the money onto the US government. </p>
<p>That’s the loophole.</p>
<p>From the Elon University Bursar’s office:</p>
<p>
Clearly not illegal in NC.</p>
<p>A Shell station in our town charges one price for non-Shell credit cards, another (lower) price for cash or debit cards.</p>
<p>Credit cards charge fees to merchants. In a thin margin business (or a non-profit) it makes sense to pass that cost along to those who use credit cards. If you don’t like it, pay via another method.</p>
<p>I run a small retail business. Small as compared to national or chain stores. We’re actually larger than the midpoint for my industry’s independent retailers. We have a credit card minimum, now that the law allows us to do so. The new law states that our minimum may not be more than $10. For many shops it might not make a difference – it depends on the merchandise assortment. For a shop where the average ticket is $100 or more, like a dress shop, and nothing is less than say $10 …why make a fuss about a minimum?</p>
<p>But I sell an item, many of this particular convenience item in a day. With tax, the total cost is $1.69. And I have people that actually want to charge this item on their credit card. Let me tell you, it’s not about the 3% … it’s about the 25 or 30 or 60 cent swipe fee. If you use your pin-based debit card for this transaction, I’m only going to actually receive $1.10. And ten cents of that is tax. (Please note – we pay the 3% on the sales tax also, but have to turn over 100% of the sales tax to the DRS. Not 97%.)</p>
<p>The credit card processing business is ugly. There are so many ways to slice and dice, nickle and dime the merchant that it’s really hard to figure out exactly what’s going on. Everyone … and I mean <em>everyone</em> has a slightly different deal. I can take two MasterCard branded cards, for the same amount, even for identical transactions, and because one is a basic card and one is a rewards card, or an affinity card or a business card, receive different amounts after processing. </p>
<p>I do have a method for people who want to charge the cost of that little convenience item. We have a prepaid discount card that sells more than our minimum and carries a 30% discount on the item … pay for ten of them in advance, at the discounted rate, and you can use your credit card to pay. (And then YOU can go for coffee, with your Starbucks card and let your kid … whose pet it is anyway … come into my store for said convenience item and he won’t need the cash.)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My question to you is…now that you no larger take credit cards for this item (which people used to buy individually with credit cards) will anybody not buy this product for you because you don’t take credit cards? Or will 100% of the people write checks or pay cash? Do you still take checks?</p>
<p>I don’t carry cash so I won’t be able to buy small dollar items at stores that have minimums on credit card transactions. I imagine that there must be a lot of people who buy small dollar items on credit cards (otherwise this wouldn’t be an issue)…will the loss of those customers hurt your store at all? Or will it be good riddance?</p>
<p>Up until a few years ago, McDonalds and other fast food joints didn’t used to take credit cards. Then they started doing that at the customers request. The accountants and other business people must have been very concerned about the fees because most people buy a couple bucks worth of food there. But they must have felt that it was worth it.</p>
<p>Recently my company cafeteria started taking credit cards so I occasionally will buy my $1.40 coke on credit. Since this was a new thing, they must have felt that the additional sales would more than offset the cost of credit card processing fees.</p>
<p>I read that the banks take in in revenue from convenience stores, three times the profits of convenience stores (in the aggregate). No surprise that there’s so much money in the banking system.</p>
<p>I generally pay with cash. I don’t like to wait for CC processing and like the anonymity of cash.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>MacDonalds changed their menus and marketing to go upscale. They sell a lot of higher
priced items and packages now and they take credit cards to make it easier to get you
fat on a ton of calories. Though actually they sell fruit cups and salads too. Their profits
are smoking with this strategy. I would guess that a lot of folks that buy the little stuff,
as opposed to the pricey stuff, don’t have credit cards.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Our cafeteria takes credit cards too but I think that part of that was to reflect expensive
food items, and the convenience in expense account reporting for those traveling to
our site on business. Many that I know that pay cash are annoyed at those paying with credit cards because it adds a non-trivial amount of time to the transaction.</p>
<p>The fees do make it hard to do business for the stores and it’d be great if banks would lower them…but the fees that the banks charge the merchants isn’t an issue the consumers should be involved with. It’s simply not classy when stores get fussy with your form of payment. Don’t like the fee, don’t accept the card. (Costco model).</p>
<p>A good case in point is gas stations that give a cash discount. You see the “cash price” advertised at $2.95 a gallon, but then the price increases to $3.05 once you get to the pump. This is a great way to encourage your customers not to return to your store in the future. This trick has been pulled on me twice, and I can honestly say that I don’t return the store again in the future.</p>
<p>I honestly think that, since nearly everybody has a “rebate credit card”, banks are charging much more in fees than necessary. They could lower their percentage rate that they charge merchants and get rid of all of the expense of having rebate programs, mailing out gift cards, etc, and the whole ball of wax.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>We have a little different system…you can pay with badge, with credit card, or cash. Credit card and cash are both extremely fast (about .5 seconds to swipe the card or read the badge) but cash is the slowest because the cashier has to take the money and count the change. I think most of us get frustrated when people pay cash because it takes so long.</p>
<p>There is a fee at DD’s university as well, but as BCEagle notes, it is through a third-party processor, so the fee is not a charge for using the card, but a fee for using the third-party service.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Banks have to make up all of the money that they lost in the mortgage bubble.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>Our cafeteria credit card reader doesn’t have a dedicated connection so there’s a modem connection that has to be made for each transaction. If you have the volume for a dedicated line, then the connection time may not be an issue. Our cafeteria also has people sign the thing which can take a bit of time. I’ve noticed that some merchants don’t require a signature for purchases under $40 so that may have been a problem that they were addressing.</p>
<p>
Not always - I can go through the self checkout station at Home Depot using my credit card in way less time than standing behind someone at a person-staffed register paying cash and even faster than being there myself waiting for the clerk to make change. It’s also often faster than paying cash at the regular checkout since now they don’t even require a signature when the transaction is below a certain amount. It’s just ‘swipe and go’. What’s really miserable is waiting behind someone writing a check. Amazingly people still do this - mostly women in my experience. Worse than that is when they don’t even start to get the checkbook out or write the check until everything’s rung up.</p>
<p>For the CC savvy - do they have different tiers of fees they charge the merchant depending on the amount charged? I assume it’s not all the same percentage rate.</p>
<p>Actually, I believe it’s all the same percentage rate for me – but what I am paying to process a charge is different than Starbucks next door, which is different from the restaurant, which is different from the gift shop. The processing charge (called a discount fee) varies by how risky the bank (credit card processor) feels the transaction is. If I swipe your card, the cost is lower than if I key it in. If you call in an order, I key it in, and the zip code you give me doesn’t match their records, that’s expensive! Rewards cards are expensive and so are business cards. </p>
<p>I think when McDonalds and Starbucks began accepting credit cards for a cup of coffee that they got a deal on the swipe fee. I said in a previous post that it costs me between 25 cents and 60 cents to swipe the card. I’m certain they have a better deal! </p>
<p>Someone asked if I had lost customers by not taking credit cards for $1.69. I know I have not lost regular customers. Most of my regulars buy this item with their prepaid discount card. If it makes you happy to stand on principle and drive 15 miles out of town to buy a dozen crickets on your credit card … be my guest. Live crickets are not available at the local supermarket, and not at every pet store. </p>
<p>I’m offering a prepaid discount card which you can buy with your credit card, and it saves you over $7, saves you time by keeping you out of the register line, and lets you send your cashless child, the pet owner in to buy food for his creature.</p>
<p>If you are a regular customer that I see every week – and sometimes three times a week – for crickets and more and you don’t have your wallet with you so you are missing your cricket ticket and your credit card and you couldn’t scrape up the coin from under the seat of your car … there are probably some free crickets for you this week.</p>
<p>A good customer wants their vendors to survive and even thrive because they appreciate their service. Understanding the business side of your vendors gives you a different perspective of how your behavior affects them.</p>
<br>
<br>
<p>How about comparing self-service checkout lines with cash compared to credit cards? You drop a $20 in the machine and it makes change pretty quickly.</p>
<p>I find CC faster at the grocery store self checkout than cash, especially now that they don’t make me sign for small amounts, which most of my purchases are. At Target, I can swipe while my items are being checked out, so the receipt just prints and away I go. Pay at the pump gas stations are a wonderful convenience too.</p>
<p>I use CCs at gas station and you do save time if you can swipe while they are scanning but at some places, the credit card readers fail frequently and need manager assistance which can take a while.</p>
<p>BCEagle has a refreshing perspective. </p>
<p>Running a small retail shop isn’t just unlocking the place in the morning and chatting up customers all day! There are so many places to lose money… from the broken bag of food in the aisle to the double plastic bagging (5-7 cents per bag) to the extra paper bags (50 cents each) you request for your two $5 toys so you don’t have to buy gift bags … </p>
<p>There are a lot of small shops closing their doors – if you want us to be here next week, you need to help us out on the nickel and dime stuff! I happen to choose credit card minimums as my line in the sand – because I’d rather be helpful on the extra bags or the carryout service or the special orders at no extra charge.</p>