Thu, 01/08/2009 - 8:23pm — WRhouse
The site truecostofcredit.com can give you a general idea of how much it cost merchants when you use your debit/credit card to buy something.
Fun, when you consider that consumer borrowing dropped by approx., $8 billion in the month of november. (Bloomberg.com)
Gee, I wonder if they'll raise their rates to compensate from the loss of fees of people not being able to afford to borrow against their credit cards?
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Having been it the retail business
I knew that it cost merchants money to accept credit cards. When I pointed out to my boss the high cost of accepting cards he said "That is the devil with doing business today".
When I would only pay 'this merchant' with a check and explained that I was only trying to save him money, He told me that it was a wash, because his bank charged him as much in check clearing charges.
So i didn't want to give my money to credit card ripoffs and ended up giving it to bank ripoffs. I don't carry cash, My Bad.
Let's face it.
Marketing the president like the greatest thang evah is our reality. We got it in our faces with Bush, except he has been the Worst President Ever. There was little blowback.
Here we go again, apparently.
I could have sworn
I made this comment on the Pepsi thread.
It's certainly where it should have gone. Hmmm.
Thanks for this, WRHouse
Really great data point. So support your local small business, pay cash and you just improved their profit by 1-15% (based on data gathered from the site). You also likely saved yourself a pile in 18% interest.
A win-win.
-----------------------------
I'm not such a bad guy once you get to know me.
b-b-b-but...
my air miles!! how will i get my air miles?!
Using debit cards
If you use your debit card as a "Debit" card, there is no fee to the merchant. To do this you have to input the PIN number for your card at the point of purchase. Do that and no fee.
If you just swipe the debit card and sign the credit slip, like you do a "credit" card, then the fee is charged. This also applies if you use one of those new "swipe only" card machines. To be a true "debit card" purchase you must input your PIN number.
My car mechanic explained this to me on the day he announced he would be charging extra for credit card payments.
My bank really pushes its customers to use the "credit card" method because it generates money for the bank. You don't have to play along.
Generating money for the bank
I'm really confused now.
Just today, I went to the bank where I have a checking account to get a debit card. Because it seems some places (like the discount grocery store) will take a bank debit card, but not a personal check (like I usually pay for everything, because it's easier than carrying cash).
The bank woman said to use the credit option for purchases, and if I used the debit option I would be charged a $1 fee.
So which is the greater evil? Me paying the extra fee or the business paying the extra fee?
Change banks.
Your bank is ripping you off.
Since I don't use credit cards...
the existence of these fees really bugs me -- I'm paying more because someone else doesn't want to pay cash.
IMHO, the law should be changed so that those who chose to use credit cards pay the fees associated with them.
We get a discount where we buy gas
Because we always pay cash. We only use our debit cards when forced to do so, like with online purchases.
I knew about the charge on the cards because I do business also. I prefer a check, because there is no charge for that. I just wait for it to clear before using the funds.
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot." - Albert Einstein
It's all about the fees, baby!
Fucking leeches. Why don't we just nationalize the credit card/debit business? Fire the execs and the marketers, and let the staff run it. There's no need to "innovate" at all. The charges won't be anything like $1.00 a pop. That's obscene.
"First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." -- Mahatma Gandhi