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6 Replies Last post: Feb 17, 2009 1:24 PM by TBizjet

Card processing with additional fee?

Feb 10, 2009 10:11 AM

caffeinated 167 posts since
Apr 29, 2008

One of my customers came in this morning and ask me if I was going to raise prices. Luckily I'm not at that point yet. But she said she was traveling yesterday and bought a coffee at a local merchant's shop. She handed over her debit card, or maybe it was her credit card, anyway the cashier said its an additional $0.50 if you want to use your card.

Are you doing this in your business?

Tags: cards, credit, credit_card_processing, debit, merchant, merchant_account, merchant_services, payments, retail_credit_card_processing, store_credit_cards Report as inappropriate

TBizjet 4 posts since
Feb 10, 2009

1. Re: Card processing with additional fee? Feb 10, 2009 12:52 PM

We are not, in fact, it is against Visa/Master Card Regs as well as most of the Debit Card Networks to charge an additional fee to use a card. Many ignore this rule, however, if someone turns you in for doing so, you will be notified to stop doing so by Visa/MC. If you choose to continue they can have your account shut down and put you on the "Terminated Merchant File" which means that no company can give you another account. Just a heads up...... You can give a discount for cash, but not charge to use the card. Some also skirt the regulations by charging a convienence fee when paying a bill online. I hope this helps.

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amspcs 503 posts since
Oct 18, 2007

2. Re: Card processing with additional fee? Feb 11, 2009 2:54 PM

Tbizjet is absolutely on the money in his response. This is against bancard association rules and
can get the merchant in a world of trouble via the CTMF (Combined Terminated Merchant File) he mentioned.

I'd like to add something else to this inquiry on a personal note. In my opinion, merchants who stoop to
such petty issues just 'don't get it' businesswise. I'm well into my sixties now and have been in the merchant service biz for a long time, and my experience is that merchants like this rarely if ever make it because they just don''t have the proper business mindset.

For one thing, any merchant who is spending time sweating the small things such as a few nickles and dimes as in this case obviously don't grasp the concept of making maximum use of one's time and worrying about important issues. In other words, penny wise and dollar stupid.

Secondly, in the business world, a customer is worth his/her weight in gold and should be treated accordingly. When a customer makes the decision to partronize YOU instead of one of your competitors,
the LAST thing you want to do is antagonize the customer with petty stupid issues like this. Smart businesspeople know that it is crucial to make the buying experience positive and hassle-free in all respects so that the customer comes back. Stupid businesspeople do what the coffee shop owner di

AMSPCS
www.MerchantServices-help.com

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Lighthouse24 2,396 posts since
Oct 10, 2007

3. Re: Card processing with additional fee? Feb 11, 2009 4:34 PM

As stated above, this is illegal (Federal Truth in Lending Act, 167(2) states that "No seller in any sales transaction may impose a surcharge on a cardholder who elects to use a credit card in lieu of payment by cash, check, or similar means.").

In addition, it is also a violation of Visa and MasterCard merchant agreements to require that a customer make a "minimum purchase" in order to use one those cards.

If your customer had called the toll-free number on the back of her card and reported it, the charge would have been removed on the spot -- and as the previous posts indicate, the merchant would have been in trouble.

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caffeinated 167 posts since
Apr 29, 2008

4. Re: Card processing with additional fee? Feb 13, 2009 1:29 PM

in response to: TBizjet

Thank you TBizjet, that helps out a ton! You seem pretty fluent with card processing. Do you offer merchant services? Welcome to the Community by the way.

caffeinated

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tmk108 6 posts since
Feb 13, 2009

5. Re: Card processing with additional fee? Feb 17, 2009 11:29 AM

even if it is legal it is morally wrong. when we decide to allow customers to pay with credit cards or debit cards we agree to the fees associated with them. we should not penalize a customer for wanting to use them. that cost should be worked into the product price across the board. the key is finding a processor with the best rates including debit rates. you can get pin based debit and have the customer use a pin pad to enter their pin. that will lower the rates as well. trust me i shopped around for a long time till i found a company that i trust and love.

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TBizjet 4 posts since
Feb 10, 2009

6. Re: Card processing with additional fee? Feb 17, 2009 1:24 PM

in response to: caffeinated

Your Welcome Caffeinated and Thanks for the Welcome to the Community. I'm hoping to learn from various areas in the forums and am happy to help out where I can. I also agree with most of the other comments made on this topic. Acceptance of credit cards is a positive cash flow service for most businesses and the service has a value. It can be a convenience for some consumers, or short term financing for others depending on the product or service being sold. The bottom line is, by accepting credit cards, we all increase our sales. That being said, all of us in business always strive to minimize our expenses and still maintain a high level of service in return.

I'll update my profile a bit more today on our business, but we do offer merchant services as well as point of sale systems and various other products for merchants along with specialized medical office applications. In business forums such as this one, I'll normally have informational posts vs a sales pitch as I believe that most would rather just get facts vs rhetoric. Besides, is there any one of us here in business that are not the best at what we do? - at least in our own eyes.... Have a great day.

TBizjet

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Card processing with additional fee?

Feb 10, 2009 10:11 AM

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