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<p>Maybe, maybe not. If their prices go up by 3% then they’ll be that much less competitive with bricks and mortar retailers and online retailers like Amazon that host their own plastic. Online retailers already have the surcharge built into their pricing structures.</p>
<p>I wonder if Amazon has the clout to negotiate lower fees.</p>
<p>When it is a big purchase (like the last trip to the garage for new spark-plugs and coils) I always ask the cashier which card they’d rather I use. The cost to me is the same, but their savings can be significant, and it builds good will.</p>
<p>I have also asked if they prefer cash or plastic. So far, all have said to me that either is fine even though I know that there is a credit card fee that they pay. For me, there is a benefit to using a credit card as I get 3% back on all my purchases. For this reason, I always use credit when I can. </p>
<p>If the cash discount would be greater, then I will choose cash. </p>
<p>Our orthodontist did offer a cash discount if the entire amount was paid up front and in cash/check. I chose to pay with a check upfront. Saved a good amount.</p>
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What credit card gives 3% back?</p>
<p>Currently, Visa and Mastercard’s merchant agreements explicitly prohibit a credit card surcharge*, minimum purchase requirement, or asking to see ID for a signed credit card unless fraud is suspected. Unfortunately, many businesses disobey these rules, particularly the latter. </p>
<p>American Express’s merchant agreement explicitly prohibits merchants to impose rules on Amex acceptance that are different than those for Visa and MasterCard.</p>
<p>As one who aims to be 100% cashless and checkless, current regulations that prefer electronic transactions benefit consumers such as myself (1-5% back on purchases is a great benefit.) There is still around a 1% handling expense for cash, likely more for checks.</p>
<p>EK4, Dick’s drive-in recently bought new cash registers that are very much able to calculate change. However, company policy prohibits use of this function.</p>
<p>*Colleges are often able to charge a credit card surcharge by having an outside company process credit card payments and remit cash and possibly a portion of the fees to the college.</p>
<p>It would be nice to have a payment system with around a 0.5%-1% processing fee become standard in the US and Canada. Financial institutions might not like this as it would reduce revenue, but it would likely lower transaction costs for merchants and consumers.</p>
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<p>I am confused – isn’t it exactly the same thing, whether you call it a surcharge for using a credit card or call it a discount for using cash?</p>
<p>The listed price is the “credit card” price and the cash discount requires planning, so if I am busy and can’t run to get cash, I don’t mind paying the listed price.</p>
<p>For those who are asking employees which card to use, if they say it doesn’t matter, it is because they don’t realize the cost of credit versus debit versus cash. I asked once if they preferred debit and the clerk said it didn’t matter. The owner, however, thanked me and explained it to her employee.</p>
<p>I work at a small library and we started accepting credit and debit cards about a month ago. So many people are appreciative of this because they don’t carry cash and are happy to pay fines or buy books from our attached used book sale room. We sell many more books because of the ability to take cards. I know I tend to buy less if I have to pay cash.</p>
<p>I pay my mechanic with a check, which he REALLY appreciates. In return, he does things for me at no charge, like check a car we acquired to figure out what repairs were needed, spray the A/C inlets of the car & other things we really appreciate. He says he was shocked that his small operation paid over $10,000 last year in CC fees. He is fine with whatever form of payment works for his customers because he knows some have trouble with repair bills but is most grateful for folks who pay cash/check.</p>
<p>Most other folks, I pay with credit card because it’s more convenient for me. I guess I could pay by electronic check as well. I do pay my CC bills on the phone via electronic check.</p>
<p>I mostly get a straight 2% back on all my CC purchases. I know some CCs give 5% or up to 3% on select categories that tend to vary by quarter.</p>
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<p>Even if the price after adding the surcharge is lower for the same product or service?</p>
<p>Around here, even if they were to tack on a surcharge, bricks & mortar places here would likely be more expensive than on-line or mail order because of the high cost of doing business in our state.</p>
<p>I like to patronize local business but high costs and limited selection make doing so tough. :(</p>
<p>What seems odd are merchants that add a fee to do a PIN transaction but do not for a signature transaction. Seems like that encourages customers to choose the more expensive (for the merchant) signature transaction over the less expensive PIN transaction.</p>
<p>(PIN transaction = “debit” and signature transaction = “credit”, but that is not quite accurate since both credit and debit cards can have the capability to do both types of transactions.)</p>
<p>UCBAlum … I would bet it’s not that simple. My processor wants a flat fee for the PIN transactions, but a swipe plus percentage for the signature transactions. The breakeven point is somewhere around $35 … but under that the PIN transaction is more expensive. At this point, we run them all as credit/signature transactions. We don’t give the customer a choice.</p>
<p>I live in MA and knew about the law against a surcharge but did not know that there was a law against a minimum purchase with cards. I’ve seen both of those in various businesses for years. Not many, but merchants have been doing it.</p>
<p>There are some purchases where only a credit card will do. Hotels, rental cars, airline tickets. Hotels and rental cars want the card in case there are additional charges, damage, etc. </p>
<p>Who travels with thousands of dollars in cash? </p>
<p>Retailers who charge the extra 2 percent are just shooting themselves in the foot. The big retailers won’t add the charge and will get more business as a result.</p>
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I don’t think there was a law against it, but it did violate the service agreement the store has with the CC company.</p>
<p>The reforms in Dodd-Frank now allow a merchant to set a minimum for credit card transactions, not debit transactions though. The maximum minimum is now set by the gov’t and is currently $10.</p>
<p>My sister works in the financial transaction routing business and she ALWAYS PAYS CASH.</p>
<p>She carries a wad of cash that would choke a horse.</p>
<p>She does this partly out of empathy for the business, because she knows the cost to the vendor of accepting her plastic, and partly out of paranoia over having her card skimmed when it’s out of her sight.</p>
<p>To be clear, Dodd-Frank allows stores to set a credit card minimum no higher than $10.</p>
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<p>For a merchant, how does the cost of card processing (PIN or signature) compare to that of handling currency and coin (counting, security measures against theft, etc.)?</p>
<p>I take it she is not paranoid about robbery?</p>