Consumers could see more $5 or $10 minimum charge rules–or at least polite requests–when using credit or debit cards this year, as merchants try to cope with an unintended effect of new federal limits on how much card issuers can charge them in so-called “swipe fees.”
Those regulations already sparked an uproar when some banks tried to impose monthly debit card use fees on consumers to offset the revenue hit–only to retreat in the face of
a withering backlash.
But the fallout didn’t end there. In an odd twist that stems from the way swipe fees have been assessed, the new rule could prompt card issuers to actually raise fees on smaller purchases in order to offset lost revenue from lower fees on larger ones.
And that means stores with a lot of small-ticket sales, such as coffee shops and gas stations, may force or coax consumers into paying with plain old cash for purchases under a certain amount, experts predict.
Stores now can refuse to accept credit cards for those smaller purchases, and they may request that customers not use debit cards for them either.
Story by J. Scott Trubey & Arielle Kass for the Atlanta Journal Constitution
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Businesses that refuse to accept credit cards for smaller purchases will probably change their minds after experiencing a number of customers leaving their purchases on the counter and walking out.
Card processing fees are simply another cost of doing business. Price your merchandise accordingly.