#297802 - 04/05/2007 23:27
Re: Speaking of CC companies? (drifting off topic)
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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and POS debit card transactions don't cost the merchant anything.
Actually, POS debit transitions (where you punch in your PIN as if using an ATM) do cost the merchant. The cost though ends up being less then the credit card fees. I'm not sure of the exact numbers, but I used to use my debit card for larger things at my friends store, and cash on smaller items.
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#297803 - 04/05/2007 23:36
Re: Speaking of CC companies? (drifting off topic)
[Re: canuckInOR]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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Stores actually have to pay for credit card transactions, so in reality, accepting credit cards is one of those things that cuts into their bottom line.
With very few exceptions, only short sighted business owners don't take credit cards. Yes, they cost money to accept, but the vast majority of the population spends more when paying by credit card. I don't know how many times I've limited what I've ordered at a place that only takes cash because I only had six bucks on me. Items that aren't impulse purchases (like gas, utilities, rent, mortgages...) don't quite have the same effect, but they get the benefits of eliminating their accounts receivable, which any place that sends out bills will tell you is valuable.
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Either way, they always have the cheapest gas by a LONG shot.
Eh, about five to ten cents usually. I buy 12 gallons of gas usually, so I pay a fifty cent premium (approximately 1.5% of my gas costs) to use my credit card vs my debit card, and go to the gas station across the street that's empty instead of packed. Usually well worth it to me, though when traveling where I don't know the gas stations I'll frequently use arco.
Matthew
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#297804 - 05/05/2007 04:20
Re: Speaking of CC companies? (drifting off topic)
[Re: gbeer]
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addict
Registered: 10/11/2000
Posts: 497
Loc: Utah, USA
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As i recall, it used to be (edit: still is) illegal for a shop to offer cash customers a discount that was not available to credit customers, or to charge a credit customer more than a cash customer.
With so many CC companies offering cash back or rewards options these days, I really believe the prohibition on offering cash customers a discount not available to CC customers should be revisited.
Visa and MasterCard have language prohibiting a credit card surcharge, but there's no actual prohibition on a cash discount. If you want a source, see the MasterCard merchant rules at http://www.mastercard.com/us/wce/PDF/MERC-Entire_Manual.pdf (specifically Bylaws & Rules, section 9.12.2).
AMEX and Discover are a little different in that they'll allow you to charge a surcharge on their cards, but if you also accept any cards that don't allow a surchage, then you can't add a surchage to AMEX or Discover. Basically, if you take Visa or MasterCard, you can't surchage AMEX or Discover either. Essentially, they don't want you as a merchant to engage in any practice that would put their card at a disadvantage relative to any other card.
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-Aaron
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#297805 - 05/05/2007 07:07
Re: Speaking of CC companies? (drifting off topic)
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5549
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
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Is a store's acceptance (or not) of credit cards really a factor in John Q Public's decision to shop there?
For me it is.
Just about everything I spend goes on my credit card. I currently have $17 cash in my wallet, the remnants of an initial $40 I put there about six months ago. On average I write two, maybe three checks a year. Everything else goes on the credit card.
I am fanatical about annotating and retaining my credit card statements, and I can show you hard evidence of where virtually every dime in the last 15 years has been spent.
A store that doesn't accept my credit card doesn't get my business. Period.
tanstaafl.
_________________________
"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
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#297806 - 05/05/2007 13:19
Re: Speaking of CC companies? (drifting off topic)
[Re: canuckInOR]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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Arco (a west-coast gas station, a subsidiary of BP, I think) seems to do fine without taking credit cards, too.
I can't remember the last time I actually went inside a filling station. It's certainly not been more than a handful of times over the last few years. I know a couple of times I have because a receipt failed to print, and that's probably more often than the number of times that I've paid cash.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
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