Visa and Mastercard agree to let merchants charge you a fee for paying with a cr

[zstyles]

     Earlier this week, we told you that a settlement in a huge lawsuit between merchants and Visa and MasterCard was in the offing and that it could open the door to retailers tacking on surcharges to credit card customers. Well, that proposed settlement has come to pass, meaning you may soon be paying more for the privilege of using your credit card.

   But the biggest thing for consumers is that the settlement will alter the Visa and MasterCard's longstanding policies against merchants adding a credit card surcharge or charging customers more than the price for a cash purchase.

   According to the Electronic Payments Coalition, a group of banks, credit unions and payment card networks, any credit card surcharges will be limited to the amount of money the merchant pays to the credit card company. So if a retailer is charged $.35/swipe by Visa, the most it can pass on to you is $.35. Retailers who add the surcharge most post a fee disclosure to the consumer at the point of entry, point of sale and on the receipt.

   In states where the law currently prohibits credit card surcharges, merchants will not be able to pass on the cost. Ironically, this case is before a U.S. District Court in New York, one of the ten states where surcharges are verboten. The others are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma and Texas.

   Though American Express and Discover were not part of the lawsuit, neither of these companies have policies prohibiting merchants from charging extra to credit card users. Instead, their merchant agreements state that a retailer can not charge extra to use these cards if they don't charge for using competitors' cards. So now that Visa and MasterCard have opened the floodgates to credit card surcharges, merchants are free to tack on the surcharge for Amex and Discover purchases.

Has anyone heard about this? I have seen this more and more in some business's around Tulsa, last night there was a 1.00 fee for all credit card transactions, is this now law or just policy?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444873204577535252460186204.html?KEYWORDS=%22swipe+fee%22

[Townsend]

Refuse to pay the fee.  See what the retailer will do.  Will they eat the $.35 or will they lose your business?

[zstyles]

Here is what visa says:

http://usa.visa.com/about_visa/ask_visa/index.html

Minimum Purchase

U.S. retailers may require a minimum purchase amount on credit card transactions. The minimum purchase amount must not exceed $10 and does not apply to transactions made with a debit card.

[DolfanBob]

and does not apply to transactions made with a debit card.

BAM! Thank you Z-Man. I was just about to ask that.

[YoungTulsan]

You worded it kind of funny.  It isn't that the credit card companies said "gee, let's allow businesses a way to make a few extra bucks by discouraging consumers from using our financing".  The credit card companies have been charging outrageous merchant fees to businesses for years by holding them hostage essentially.  The deal was simple:  You either pass up on half of your sales by not accepting credit cards, or you agree to both pay them a large cut for every transaction, and also legally agree that you can't pass that cost on to the consumer.

That is how credit cards offer things like rewards programs, because they make a tidy profit off of every transaction you make, via the hostage situation involving the helpless merchant.  It isn't based off of the future possibility of you paying them interest and fees.

So this settlement is huge for the little guy running a business.  Instead of being helpless to giant mega-banks they would never have any chance of leveraging any negotiation ability with, now they have the option of looking like assholes to their customers instead of just taking it blindly.

As a frequent user of cash, I like the idea of buying something from a store and not having to subsidize the loss they take for credit transactions.

[nathanm]

Cash discounts have always been allowed... (credit surcharges, on the other hand, have not been)

The rates my clients have had are reasonable enough that the surcharges on everything but the rewards cards (1.85% earlier this year) just about offset the time and effort involved in handling cash. The downside, of course, being that you don't get the money for a couple of days. Good that they get to make the decision for themselves now. Well, they always have been able to, just not if they accept Visa and MasterCard.

[Red Arrow]

Cash discounts have always been allowed...

You may want to double check that.  I have heard otherwise from some businesses.  It may not be for every credit card variety.

[nathanm]

You may want to double check that.  I have heard otherwise from some businesses.  It may not be for every credit card variety.

Always may be too strong, I know cash discounts have been allowed for some years now. And there was a time in the more distant past before credit card companies managed to stamp out cash discounts. I seem to remember a time when most all filling stations had separate cash and credit prices.

[Red Arrow]

Always may be too strong, I know cash discounts have been allowed for some years now. And there was a time in the more distant past before credit card companies managed to stamp out cash discounts. I seem to remember a time when most all filling stations had separate cash and credit prices.

I knew of some places that offered a cash discount but had to discontinue it because of credit card companies that believed a cash discount was pretty much the same as a credit card surcharge.  It's been a while but I haven't seen anything other than the same price, cash or charge, for many years.

[Hoss]

I knew of some places that offered a cash discount but had to discontinue it because of credit card companies that believed a cash discount was pretty much the same as a credit card surcharge.  It's been a while but I haven't seen anything other than the same price, cash or charge, for many years.

I know some online gun sellers (Bud's for one) does this and makes no bones about calling it a cash discount.  Bud's is also a brick/mortar gun store in Kentucky.

Dong's does this as well..

[zstyles]

I actually just saw a gas station, corner of 15th and Utica, The sign out front listed "Cash Price and Credit Price".....cash price was about 10 cents cheaper

[TheTed]

The Spec's Liquor chain in Texas has a 5% cash/debit discount.

[Townsend]

In case a merchant wants to risk it, it's coming soon:

New credit card fees, charges: Today Show spotlights 'checkout fees' you could be paying

http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/money/consumer/New-credit-card-fees-charges-Today-Show-spotlights-checkout-fees-you-could-be-paying

(KNXV) - We all use credit cards to shop. They can get us cash back and rewards and they help us build credit.

But the next time you swipe your card at the checkout you could get hit with a brand new fee.

Historically, retailers haven't been allowed to charge you for buying something with a credit card as opposed to using cash or debit. But all that could change.

Consumer advocates are warning that, starting this Sunday, Jan. 27, merchants will be allowed to charge you up to 4 percent extra, just for using your credit card.

Consumer Action and ConsumerWorld.com want you to be on alert for the new so-called checkout fees if you ever pay with a credit card.

This is all the result of a lawsuit settlement between retailers and several major banks, plus Visa and Mastercard, according to Consumer Action. The lawsuit was settled and preliminarily approved by a judge.

When you pay with a credit card, it costs a store or website money to process the transaction. As part of the settlement of the lawsuit, retailers will now be allowed to pass those costs on to customers like you, Consumer Action reports.

They're usually between 1.5 and 3 percent, but they can be up to 4 percent, according to Consumer World.

Most retailers probably won't want to impose extra charges that will turn customers away from them, but consumer advocates worry the charges will become the norm after some time.

Here's what you can do: Retailers will be required to post the surcharge clearly in their stores and on their websites if they're going to charge it. Watch out for those notifications.

Consumer World reports that retailers will have to post a notice at the store's entrance and at the register. Online sellers have to disclose that the surcharge will be applied "on the page of the website where credit cards are first mentioned."

Also, there could be different fees for different cards. Consumer Action published a guide for you at KnowYourCard.org , explaining consumer rights and responsibilities.


Read more: http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/money/consumer/New-credit-card-fees-charges-Today-Show-spotlights-checkout-fees-you-could-be-paying#ixzz2J1L3pMpf

[Teatownclown]

and you bitches complain about taxes....

[Hoss]

In case a merchant wants to risk it, it's coming soon:

New credit card fees, charges: Today Show spotlights 'checkout fees' you could be paying

http://www.kjrh.com/dpp/money/consumer/New-credit-card-fees-charges-Today-Show-spotlights-checkout-fees-you-could-be-paying

Knowyourcard.org also says this:

Know what the retailer's policies are regarding surcharges for credit card use and shop accordingly. Merchants are not required to impose a fee so you might find businesses that will accept payment by credit card without tacking anything onto your bottom line. If you encounter credit card surcharges in CA, CO, CT, FL, KS, ME, MA, NY, OK or TX, where they are prohibited under state law, you can report them to the state attorney general

Which likely means they'll try and use the 'cash discount' wording to get around the law...