I thought that the price of using a credit/debit card was the interest payed.

MA law doesn't allow merchants to add in the 3% credit card fee. It does, however allow discounts for cash. Which is how stores advertise it. That's probably the smarter way to advertise the fee, but many merchants just follow the crowd.

Denverd0n said:
There has ALWAYS been a 3% fee for using a credit card. It's just that the law was recently changed to allow merchants to charge it to the customer, rather than absorbing it themselves. In the past, whether you used a credit card or paid cash, the fee was baked into the cost of the product you were purchasing. As someone who pays cash when I can, I'm glad to see it separated out so that I only have to pay it if I'm actually using a credit card!
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rwsmith said:
But now they add 3% to that. I suppose that if we started rejecting card use and went back to paying cash, they'd charge for that, too.
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Merchants have been getting a 3% processing fee for a long time. In the old days most waived it to the customer, but these days most merchants are charging the customer that fee. This has been going on for as long as I've been doing business, when were using sea shells and beads for currency. ;)
 
My first credit card came with my first job after college. The job required considerable travel, so the company gave me both a Diners Club card and an air travel card for plane tickets. At that time, Diners Club cards were obtainable only by companies and were not available for individuals. So I really felt like a big shot because I had a Diners Club card. Maybe it is still that way. It wasn’t until much later that I got my own individual credit card. I don’t remember whether that was Visa or Mastercard. I have both now. One for recurring monthly payments, the other for everyday use.
 
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The fees merchants are charged varies mostly according to their transaction volume. I work for a large retailer. Their fees are in the neighborhood of 1.75% for credit cards and 1.25% for debit cards. These days something close to 80% of our transactions are done with cards. We don't charge extra for using cards nor offer a "cash discount."

Back when I was an independent retailer I paid 4%, but I was a pretty small fish. There really weren't debit cards in those days. I always felt like it was better to pay the fee than to try to collect a bad check. I was eventually able to collect on all the bad checks I received except one, but it was a lot of work to do so.
 
Certain banks do not charge fees for their cards, or interest if you maintain some minimum balance. I haven't paid either... ever.

I don't go to gas stations that charge extra for a card, if I REALLY needed to get gas I'll use cash and let their employees steal it all :-) Win for me, loss for them.
 
After a winning bid at an auction house I inform them that I will be paying by certified bank check. The invoice will not include the 3% fee. It only take a few extra day for the check to get to them. That's a $90 savings on a $3000 lot.
 
gnappi said:
Certain banks do not charge fees for their cards, or interest if you maintain some minimum balance. I haven't paid either... ever.

I don't go to gas stations that charge extra for a card, if I REALLY needed to get gas I'll use cash and let their employees steal it all :-) Win for me, loss for them.
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This is a "pay before you pump" area. So now not only do I have to get the cash, I have to get inline inside to give the attendant money, pump, then get in line again to get my change. Bag that noise. It means I am on the premises for longer, which given what goes on at many gas stations in Vegas, is not Plan A. Count this double if you stop for gas in downtown Gallup chasing cheaper diesel, a mistake I shall not make again.
 
TX-Dennis said:
...The fees merchants are charged varies mostly according to their transaction volume. I work for a large retailer. Their fees are in the neighborhood of 1.75% for credit cards and 1.25% for debit cards.
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I did not realize that debit cards incurred processing fees for the merchant, as you and another poster above have pointed out. I had assumed they did not because some merchants waive posted 3% credit processing fees for debit cards.

E.g, my Mazda car dealership when I bought $1K set of tires from it. There's also a discount supermarket chain around here called Winco, employee owned, which has excellent pricing. Their policy is no credit cards. Cash or debit card only.

Personally, I like the convenience of paying for stuff with a card. And I like the points which we use primarily for air travel. I do keep a few hundred on me just in case, and find it useful in particular when I want to tip someone who is not part of a cc transaction.

I'd carry cash if I went to a gun show, but have never been.
 
DWalt said:
I can imagine that places like WalMart and Home Depot pay fees much less than 3%
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When I owned my store, CC fees varied by the card...I remember AMEX always being 3%, Discover was a hair over 2%...I got VISA/MC down to 1.4% with some assistance from my business banker...I think debit cards cost me something, but I can't remember what...I always encouraged paper checks and cash...

Now that I'm retired I use my own credit cards for everything - groceries, diesel, doctors, dentists, my barber...There's no annual fee on any of my cards, fraud protection is a freebie and the best thing is they pay me a percentage of the charge to use them - anywhere from 2% to 5%, depending on the purchase category and which card I use...I pay the balance when I see the bill so there's never an interest charge to me...Only if a cash discount is offered that amounts to more than the CC issuer is paying me will I use cash...

Gun shows are always cash only for me...But if the CC companies are going to pay me to use the cards for something I was going to buy anyway, why wouldn't I?... :geek: ...Ben
 
Onomea said:
Recently merchants have begun to add the 3% to the retail price to cover the processing charges the credit card companies charge to the merchants. Many merchants will waive this 3% charge if you use a debit card.

Somebody needs to pay for the points or cash back that credit cards offer cardholders. This comes from annual credit card fees, interest payments from cardholders who pay late, and processing fees charged to merchants.

That's how I understand it, anyway.
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That is correct, the ones charging 3% for a debit card are ripping you off! Like the ones that charge $70 to ship a rifle.
 
The customer has  always paid the processing fee. Sometimes it is itemized, sometimes it ain't.
It is just like when they take Social Security from your paycheck. You pay half and the employer pays half, right? BS. It all comes from what you earn. Just gotta put in the right column.
 
I own a small business. We accept MC, VISA + DISCOVER. They all charge us 2.5 - 3%. I eat that charge. American Express on the other hand charges us 5% so I won't accept them.
Another fun thing with credit cards is when the customer stops payment on the card becouse they don't remember ever buying anything from us. PIA.
 
roundgunner said:
I own a small business. We accept MC, VISA + DISCOVER. They all charge us 2.5 - 3%. I eat that charge. American Express on the other hand charges us 5% so I won't accept them.
Another fun thing with credit cards is when the customer stops payment on the card becouse they don't remember ever buying anything from us. PIA.
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GOD Bless you and your caring kindness!
 
John in Yuma said:
The customer has  always paid the processing fee. Sometimes it is itemized, sometimes it ain't.
It is just like when they take Social Security from your paycheck. You pay half and the employer pays half, right? BS. It all comes from what you earn. Just gotta put in the right column.
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So based on your statement, the employer has two options on what to do with his half if he didn't have to pay it to SS: add that amount to the employee's paycheck or keep it for his own profit. Which do you think is the more likely?

As for adding a fee for using a credit card as payment, I have no problem with that. Why should the customer's convenience cost the business money? Or add a discount for cash purchases. Same effect either way.
 
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