@Kree wrote:
When I had a store I chose not to accept Amex because the fees were literally twice as high. something like 60cents + 4% versus 30 cents +2% for the others. This was about a decade ago, so don't quote me the specifics.
When adding in cost of product, labor costs, rent costs, utilities etc, a 10% profit margin is usually pretty good. If someone pushes a million dollars through their store, they are walking out with 100k a year. When you take an extra 2% off the top, that is a very real 20,000 out of the owners pocket. (not that 100% of people want to pay with amex, just an extreme example).
The issue there is that AMEX used to be a card for the wealthy. Those who preferred AMEX spent more money in the first place, so store owners didn't have a right to complain. Many customers did (and still do) avoid places that don't take AMEX. You could've just raised your prices 4% and then profited off of everyone.
If cash holders get you $1,000 in sales per week, and then $1900 for V/MC, and then $6,000 for AMEX, you can be sure the business owner will take AMEX.
