No, they are charged the 3% fees (or close to it) and simply passing on the costs to the consumer. Other choice is they raise costs for everyone, even those paying cash. |
+1 Exactly what they are doing. And that's also the reason many only take MC/Visa and NOT Amex, because Amex fees are typically higher compared to MC/Visa. So many small businesses refuse to take Amex (don't blame them). |
But the fee was always there. The poor lil small buddniss problem is the profit margin. |
They are betting that people will just pony up the fee and/or hope that underreporting the cash income will off set the expenses of dealing with cash. |
| I actually don’t trust cash only businesses and will often go elsewhere. I’m convinced they’re running tax scams or money laundering. |
The penny died yesterday. It was 232 years old. |
The CC fees have gotten a lot higher, and a few years ago there was a SCOTUS ruling that allowed merchants to add a fee to cover it. Before that they were bound by the credit card agreements not to add their own fee. https://www.lawpay.com/about/blog/credit-card-surcharge-rules/ |
Because once businesses realized that customers were willing to pay the fees, it caught on and it is “now everywhere.” It’s similar to the Covid fees. when restaurants decided to start charging Covid fees, and customers willingly accepted it willingly pay them, it caught on, and some have never let them go because customers are still willing to pay them. When the customer Fights back with their wallet that is when these fees will go away |
Good - almost every other country fixed this years ago |
More of a reason to get rid of them now. All change too. |
| they should outlaw fees they need to bake it into the price, resturants or scammers they want things to look low untilt he bill comes up get rid of tipping too |
| I had a design build team try this with me for a kitchen renovation, even if I sent a wire. When I asked about checks they said, well I guess no fee for checks but we will have to hold it for a few days for it to clear. My response was that’s fine. So I paid every single requisition by check. |
Thank you very much for this answer. |
It's not clear - are you aware that these fees have always existed? Like even prior to 2000! My dad was a small businessman. In the 1970s and 80s, people would pay with checks and they might bounce... and he'd either be out the money or have to invest the time & effort to hound the customer to "pay up." (And it was a struggle on him to deal with those deadbeats.) So when credit cards became more widely used in the 90s, he was happy to pay the 3% fee because it was sanity to him. I was just in Southern California and nearly every transaction had a 3-4% surcharge on it, even if I paid in cash. The line on the receipts usually referred to the "rising cost of business." PS, I try to pay in cash when I shop at small businesses. It is kind of a pain, but I don't mind because I know how much penny counted when my dad was in his first 10 years. I also don't get bummed out by "missed points." I have never even considered that aspect. |
I was about to say, do they want me to dig out my checkbook? I'm old enough to remember paying by check at the grocery store, and you'd have to show them an ID. It seemed to take forever, compared to tapping your card now. I was just at a Bethesda restaurant last night where the bill showed two prices, one with cash, one with credit. I don't remember seeing that before. |