Surcharge for Using Credit Cards?

[Anonymous]

Hi, everyone. 

I hope that all of you and your families are staying healthy.

Has anyone heard anything about businesses, especially restaurants, imposing surcharges for using credit cards, in this new Covid19 era?

I read somewhere that businesses (restaurants?) may start doing this, due to all of the lost revenue over the last few months. I also read that this practice is particularly common in New York restaurants.

I live in Chicago so I don't know about this.

First you hear that paper cash is something that is likely to go away because of the 'filth' aspect, and that the "cashless society" is coming very soon. 

Then you read these articles about "cash discounts" or "credit card surcharges."

I, for one, am not going to pay a fee , like 3%, in order to earn a 2% reward (Citi DC). I would rather pay $100 cash instead of $103 credit at a restaurant. 

Maybe cash is not as dead as everyone thinks.

Have a good Memorial Day weekend !!

Johnny50. 

[Anonymous]

If I ever go to a place and they have a sign posted about giving discounts to people who pay cash, I'll leave but not before I give management a piece of my mind. Raise prices for everyone, eat the fees, or don't take cards at all but don't penalize people who don't carry cash. 

[kdm31091]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If I ever go to a place and they have a sign posted about giving discounts to people who pay cash, I'll leave but not before I give management a piece of my mind. Raise prices for everyone, eat the fees, or don't take cards at all but don't penalize people who don't carry cash. 

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Unless we're talking about a mom and pop business, store management likely has no say in these decisions. I think a complaint to corporate would be far more effective, as it's likely the store level management has heard the complaint before and cannot do anything about it.

I have not seen any increase in surcharges for using cash. I have not seen it much at all, outside of a few gas stations (even before COVID).

[Peteyglad]

I see it quite frequently for gas. Also, my local gun store. The price on the guns is the cash price. There is a 3% fee for using a credit card. 

[K-in-Boston]

This subject comes up fairly regularly.  Whether by state law or with the merchant agreements to accept credit cards, they've mostly been disallowed in the past.

Any restaurant not accepting or at least discouraging credit card use is shooting themselves in the foot.  It's well-researched and documented that customers paying by credit card spend an average of 12% more on their check than those paying by cash so while they may be saving on merchant fees, they're also losing sales.  For fast food, that number is much higher.

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

If I ever go to a place and they have a sign posted about giving discounts to people who pay cash, I'll leave but not before I give management a piece of my mind. Raise prices for everyone, eat the fees, or don't take cards at all but don't penalize people who don't carry cash. 

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I feel differently.   The fees are important, so I get the same return from the cash customer at normal price as from the credit card customer + surcharge.   I would not be forcing them to carry cash, but they pay extra because they make me pay extra.

I take @K-in-Boston point about credit card users spending more, but at least in some cases I would trust the judgement of the store owners, who may have discovered that for them, credit card holders aren't bigger spenders.

[Anonymous]

Can't swipe fees be written off as business expenses? If so then there isn't much reason to charge an additional cost to the consumer

[Anonymous]

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

If I ever go to a place and they have a sign posted about giving discounts to people who pay cash, I'll leave but not before I give management a piece of my mind. Raise prices for everyone, eat the fees, or don't take cards at all but don't penalize people who don't carry cash. 

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I feel differently.   The fees are important, so I get the same return from the cash customer at normal price as from the credit card customer + surcharge.   I would not be forcing them to carry cash, but they pay extra because they make me pay extra.

I take @K-in-Boston point about credit card users spending more, but at least in some cases I would trust the judgement of the store owners, who may have discovered that for them, credit card holders aren't bigger spenders.

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There are plenty of people like me who won't do business with businesses that charge credit card customers more. I think that's going to just accelerate now that COVID-19 has created a whole new generation of germaphobes. 

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Can't swipe fees be written off as business expenses? If so then there isn't much reason to charge an additional cost to the consumer

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They are deductions so reduce tax, but that still leaves a cost.

[longtimelurker]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@longtimelurker wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

If I ever go to a place and they have a sign posted about giving discounts to people who pay cash, I'll leave but not before I give management a piece of my mind. Raise prices for everyone, eat the fees, or don't take cards at all but don't penalize people who don't carry cash. 

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I feel differently.   The fees are important, so I get the same return from the cash customer at normal price as from the credit card customer + surcharge.   I would not be forcing them to carry cash, but they pay extra because they make me pay extra.

I take @K-in-Boston point about credit card users spending more, but at least in some cases I would trust the judgement of the store owners, who may have discovered that for them, credit card holders aren't bigger spenders.

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There are plenty of people like me who won't do business with businesses that charge credit card customers more. I think that's going to just accelerate now that COVID-19 has created a whole new generation of germaphobes. 

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It comes down to convenience, some people will need X and either buy it with cash, or pay more for credit.   Others, like you, will attempt to find what they need elsewhere.       And businesses can adapt, if it turns out that business really suffers for that reason, they will change.

And while I like to think that people are germaphobes, look at the crowded beaches in some places.