Credit card charges retail suicide
Lewis DiuguidSmart retailers know better than to charge customers more if shoppers use credit cards for purchases.
Since Sunday, stores have been able to tack on an extra fee for shoppers who use credit cards. The card companies and banks charge merchants when customers swipe cards to buy things.
That add-on amounts to up to 3 percent of the purchase price, but it protects stores against fraud or people who don’t pay. Stores bake the charge into the price of goods and services.
Retailers sued seven years ago, contending that the card companies conspired to fix the charges, called interchange fees, The Kansas City Star reports. In a settlement, the card companies lifted the ban on retailers adding a surcharge.
But smart companies know not to go there. Credit cards enable people to buy what they want, when they want it.
Fees would force budget-conscious consumers to use cash, debit cards and checks only. That would limit what folks can afford, which would hurt retailers.
In a bad economy, no one wants that, which is why Wal-Mart, Macy’s and Target don’t plan to hit consumers using credit cards with extra fees. They are wise.
JR Beillenhouser
3 months, 2 weeks agoGuess, whose great idea that was. How’s that economy doing?