Why don't some places accept AMEX?

[Platinum]

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@Open123 wrote:

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@timmis1127 wrote:

My family owns two small businesses which are liquor stores and we accept Amex but there fees are outragous and in defense to small business owners like my family, when someone comes up with a bottle of water which cost $.99 cents and amex wants $.35 to swipe the card then 1.5% of of the total transaction cost we take a loss on that. 

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This is just wrong.  I think if I were a small retail merchant, I'd definitely have the "min $10 credit card purchase rule."

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This $10 minimum purchase rule is aganst the rule. There is no such thing as minimum purchase amount. Those displaying such sign do it illegally. You either accept credit cards for any amount or you don't accept credit cards at all. 

[Open123]

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@Platinum wrote:

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This $10 minimum purchase rule is aganst the rule. There is no such thing as minimum purchase amount. Those displaying such sign do it illegally. You either accept credit cards for any amount or you don't accept credit cards at all. 

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It certaintly is neither "illegal," nor is it against the rules of agreement.

Before the CC Act, Visa and MC routinely required "no minimum" purchase, while AmEx never stipulated a minimum amount leaving it to the discretion of the merchant.

After the card act, both Visa and MC have waived the "minimum" requirement from there TOS agreements.  AmEx has maintained they never specify a min charge, but insist that if a min is placed on an AmEx charge, then the same minimum must also apply universally, meaning to all Visa, MC, and Discover et al...

[Platinum]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Platinum wrote:

Yes I do have other cards and I use other cards too. It all depends on the situation. Many time merchants have no idea why they do not take AmEx and I like to teach them lesson occasionally.

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Can you please videotape yourself doing this?  Walking into a store that obviously doesn't accept AMEX, trying to offer an AMEX, and then lecturing the cashier and storming out would surely get more than a few hits on Youtube.

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How do you know that they obviously do not accept AmEx ??? By looking at the sign in the front ??? It does not mean anything. Those signs are outdated too. Sometimes sign does not display AmEx logo but they do take AmEx and vice versa. You don't know until you talk to them. Myself lecturing cashier and storming out is just your imagination, you exaggerate things. It does not have to be that way. We can always have polite conversation.

[Anonymous]

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@Platinum wrote:

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@Open123 wrote:

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@timmis1127 wrote:

My family owns two small businesses which are liquor stores and we accept Amex but there fees are outragous and in defense to small business owners like my family, when someone comes up with a bottle of water which cost $.99 cents and amex wants $.35 to swipe the card then 1.5% of of the total transaction cost we take a loss on that. 

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This is just wrong.  I think if I were a small retail merchant, I'd definitely have the "min $10 credit card purchase rule."

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This $10 minimum purchase rule is aganst the rule. There is no such thing as minimum purchase amount. Those displaying such sign do it illegally. You either accept credit cards for any amount or you don't accept credit cards at all. 

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No.  The Dodd-Frank act overturned this.  It's now illegal for credit card companies to force retailers to accept transactions under $10.

[Anonymous]

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@Platinum wrote:

How do you know that they obviously do not accept AmEx ??? By looking at the sign in the front ??? It does not mean anything. Those signs are outdated too. Sometimes sign does not display AmEx logo but they do take AmEx and vice versa. You don't know until you talk to them. Myself lecturing cashier and storming out is just your imagination, you exaggerate things. It does not have to be that way. We can always have polite conversation.

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Sorry, I just filled in the gaps when you said you "loved seeing the looks on their faces" when you won't buy their products and when you called them "nutcases" for not accepting AMEX.  The only way a cashier would make an even remotely entertaining face is if you caused some kind of scene.

[timmis1127]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@Platinum wrote:

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@Open123 wrote:

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@timmis1127 wrote:

My family owns two small businesses which are liquor stores and we accept Amex but there fees are outragous and in defense to small business owners like my family, when someone comes up with a bottle of water which cost $.99 cents and amex wants $.35 to swipe the card then 1.5% of of the total transaction cost we take a loss on that. 

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This is just wrong.  I think if I were a small retail merchant, I'd definitely have the "min $10 credit card purchase rule."

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This $10 minimum purchase rule is aganst the rule. There is no such thing as minimum purchase amount. Those displaying such sign do it illegally. You either accept credit cards for any amount or you don't accept credit cards at all. 

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No.  The Dodd-Frank act overturned this.  It's now illegal for credit card companies to force retailers to accept transactions under $10.

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So are you saying merchants can put a minumum amount and it is not illegal?

[Open123]

I'm just glad we have a system where any merchant is free to accept whatever payment they please for whatever reason.

Likewise, we as consumers can choose to pay with whatever payment we choose for whatever reason.

If we can't meet on an agreeable currency, it's ok not to conduct business.  There are other merchants, and other customers.  The free market will always resolve issues such as this very efficiently.

[Open123]

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@timmis1127 wrote:

So are you saying merchants can put a minumum amount and it is not illegal?

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Yes, they can absolutely require whatever minimum they please.  Even $100 (I stand corrected, legal min is 10 bucks--though, in my view, if I were a merchant, I should have the right to charge whatever min I deem fitting).

It should not be and never was "illegal" to begin with, but only a stipulation Visa/MC placed in the agreements.  

[Anonymous]

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@timmis1127 wrote:

So are you saying merchants can put a minumum amount and it is not illegal?

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It was never illegal.  It was against the policies of credit card issuers for the merchants to do it, so you could report the merchants to the CC companies, and they could rescind the right for the merchant to accept their card.  Now it IS illegal for the credit card issuers to make rules against minimums, as long as the minimum isn't above ten bucks.

[timmis1127]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@timmis1127 wrote:

So are you saying merchants can put a minumum amount and it is not illegal?

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It was never illegal.  It was against the policies of credit card issuers for the merchants to do it, so you could report the merchants to the CC companies, and they could rescind the right for the merchant to accept their card.  Now it IS illegal for the credit card issuers to make rules against minimums, as long as the minimum isn't above ten bucks.

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Very nice!

Thanks guys I will let my father know he will be very delighted about the news!