New credit card processing fees (wonder what Detlef will do)

[keggerz]

http://lifehacker.com/5979716/watch-for-new-credit-card-processing-fees-and-be-ready-to-pay-cash-at-your-favorite-stores

 

So retailers are now going to be able to pass along credit card fees(Visa/MC only)to the consumer...I wonder how Detlef is going to feel when his servers tell their customers that if they tip via CC that they will be charged an extra 1.5 to 4%

 

 

Oh and if you use debit then they can't charge you...that's because the fees are less to process debit cards (now you know why those pos pads default to debit and not credit)

Edited January 30, 2013 by keggerz

[Chief Dick]

Don't see this as a big deal. Don't companies already roll in these potential fees when setting their prices?

 

The crime will be the companies that all of a sudden add it after the transaction. Those double dippers can suck it.

[WashingtonD]

Don't see this as a big deal. Don't companies already roll in these potential fees when setting their prices?

 

 

This - any retailer/business worth their salt was calculating those fees into their costs for how they established their pricing in any case. Most of this particular piece of regulation was about the transparency of the fees.

[keggerz]

Don't see this as a big deal. Don't companies already roll in these potential fees when setting their prices?

 

The crime will be the companies that all of a sudden add it after the transaction. Those double dippers can suck it.

 

This - any retailer/business worth their salt was calculating those fees into their costs for how they established their pricing in any case. Most of this particular piece of regulation was about the transparency of the fees.

 

 

Both of you are correct in that a business should have calculated those fees into their costs...while many of the largest retailers say that they won't charge the fee you can bet your bottom dollar there will be, as you called them, CD, double dippers.

[moneymakers]

gas stations in Michigan have had the cash price and the higher credit card price option for years.

Edited January 31, 2013 by moneymakers

[Joessfl]

I drive a lot to work, so I pay cash as much as I can. I figure over time, its at least some $ in my pocket.

 

$3.46 vs $3.59 a gallon, so I save .13 which doesnt at sound like a lot at first except i fill up almost 3 times a week. I figure I am saving $200 to $250 a year. Enough to support my league fees each year.

 

If gas stations can do this and it works for them, why don't other merchants give it a try?

[Jackass]

Don't see this as a big deal. Don't companies already roll in these potential fees when setting their prices?

 

The crime will be the companies that all of a sudden add it after the transaction. Those double dippers can suck it.

 

 

true but now there will be different prices, so you won't be able to use your credit card unless you want to pay more. and if you get 1 or 2% back on some purchases, that won't do you much good any longer.

[stevegrab]

According to the article, doesn't apply to Discover. That's good it is the one I use almost all the time anyway.

 

Thankfully they have to warn you, again from the article

"They can't blindly tack it on though: they have to notify you in some way, so keep an eye out for new signs at checkout or on the store door to let you know of the change. Online merchants are required to notify you of the fee before you check out."

[detlef]

I'm seeing a number of people ranting on FB about this and they seem to be painting the retailers as the bad guys.

 

They're the most passive actor in the whole CC process. They just have something they want to sell and are basically forced to accept what people are willing to give them. At first it was cash, then people started scribbling on little papers that said, "here's some money" that may or may not have actually existed, forcing the merchant to take the chance the check was good.

 

Then came credit cards and now, rewards-based cards that charge higher and higher fees to merchants that "any retailer worth his salt" needs to build into his pricing.

 

And if someone decides to simply charge those people who choose to purchase in a way that causes him upwards of 5% off the top a different price than someone who just hands him cash, he's a dick?

 

Understand who the dick really is. it's the guy who wants his miles or his rewards cash back and wants everyone else to pick up the tab for it. Because nothing is free. Either the merchant is eating it or he's building it in to the cost, which means everyone is. But the CC company isn't just giving money away.

 

The other dick is the CC companies who are working their way, more and more, into every transaction. Promising consumers a little cut in their retailer extortion racket. I've seen fees on various rewards cards get higher and higher over the last 10 years. The consumer gets a small slice, but you do pay for that slice in the form of higher prices. Be it, hidden or right out there to be seen.

 

But let's make one thing clear. It is not my "choice" to take CCs. At least not a legit choice. I have two choices. Take CCs, or go out of business. The consumer truly does have a choice. Carry cash, use a card. Both are entirely valid and realistic. So, again, I'm the most passive actor in this whole game.

Edited February 2, 2013 by detlef

[detlef]

Another thing, if you read the article, you will notice this is the result of a battle that retailers had with CC companies. CC companies didn't have to ask retailer's permission to start the rewards escalation process. Offering higher rewards but charging significantly higher fees to retailers.

 

But if the retailers dared cut into the CC's share of the market by striking their own deal with consumers in the form of charging less for cash transactions, they had to fight for the right to do so.

[keggerz]

but will you let your servers charge your customers the CC fee if they tip on a CC?

[flemingd]

Both of you are correct in that a business should have calculated those fees into their costs...while many of the largest retailers say that they won't charge the fee you can bet your bottom dollar there will be, as you called them, CD, double dippers.

 

They will be triple dipping. Not only are the retailers already baking the costs in, and will then pass it along to you without adjusting price, but you can bet the fees will escalate fast. Retailers as a whole have a ton more negotiating power than consumers do. CC companies adding 1% would get killed by the retailers, but the consumers will just bitch, bend over, and take it.

[keggerz]

They will be triple dipping. Not only are the retailers already baking the costs in, and will then pass it along to you without adjusting price, but you can bet the fees will escalate fast. Retailers as a whole have a ton more negotiating power than consumers do. CC companies adding 1% would get killed by the retailers, but the consumers will just bitch, bend over, and take it.

 

BOOM