Retailers Begin Charging Credit Fees Sunday
A fee of up to 4 percent of a credit card purchase could be added to your bill come Sunday.
Think twice when you pull out your credit card today.
A controversial federal court ruling last year has given retailers the go-ahead to tack bank surcharges for credit card purchases on customer bills—starting Sunday. Bank fees between 2 and 4 percent of a credit card purchase had traditionally been covered by retailers making the sales, but smaller businesses without the backing of major corporations usually felt the brunt of these charges.
Ten states prohibit passing fees on to credit card users, but Maryland isn't one of them, according to an announcement issued by the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Regional Services Center.
Customers can avoid the charges by paying with debit cards or prepaid cards. According to a Time Magazine report on the issue, stores must warn customers with a sign on the door before charging them the fees, and not all retailers will pass on the fees for fear of alienating customers.
Would you pay extra fees at the register for the convenience of credit cards?
Keith clark
7:17 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013
Cash will come back in style and should be rewarded by retailers with a 2-4% discount on transaction totals paid in cash. Because this credit cost is already figured into pricing.
card issuing banks will lose. Penalty is already in place from my personal bank for using card as debit more than 6 times in a month
Keith clark
7:22 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013
Assuming retailers want to retain business through fair practices
reaganredux
8:28 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013
the libs will never stop spending our money in government, never. So they must get it somehow. I guess they never figured if they dont tax the big credit card companies , they wont charge the retailer the fees. No corporation ever paid taxes, only consumers do,
Dick
9:54 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013
Look for longer checkout lines as customers write checks or clerks fumble to make change when customers pay with cash, especially when customers give cash plus change so not to get back a bunch of pennies.
Ray Whalen
10:17 am on Sunday, January 27, 2013
The cost of providing services is not a liberal or conservative issue. The consumer always pays for ALL costs or the vendor goes out of business. The question is in what manner the cost is passed through to the end user. The government should stay out of it completely. Retailers want customers and customers want goods and services. The market and competition will change the way business is done from time-to-time. That is the most efficient method to keep transactions "fair".