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TJ's Beverage Goes Cash Only

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tviemont:
I was at TJ's yesterday and read a sign that said they'd start charging a $1 service charge for customers who wanted to use credit cards to pay for their purchases.  They also put in an ATM which I'll assume charges at least $2 transaction fee.  Businesses pay a service charge to use credit cards which comes out of their profits.  It's a cost of doing business. 

Would you still support a business that charged such a service fee? 

hopalong:
Businesses pay a service charge, therefore raise prices.  It is us the consumers that pay for credit card company profits.  Nothing wrong with that, it's a convenience, and we pay for it.  But, everyone pays for it, whether they use credit cards or not.  So, sounds like TJ's is saying:  People who don't use credit cards don't have to pay an inflated price to cover the cost of credit card use; people who prefer that conveniece ... can pay for the overhead.  So, I'm just saying that there's a 'pro' side of the argument.  Maybe everyplace should do it...   ;)

dmwcpa:
I use a credit card about 99.5% of the time now. A $1 charge would not bother me. Usually when I am at a place like TJ's I spend well over $50. However, if I was a regular customer I would try to remember to bring a check.

Tsquared:
Credit card fees are an unfortunate cost of doing business these days but I have never heard of a company getting charged $1/transaction from a processing company that they would need to pass on to a consumer. Credit card processing is a very competitive business and fees are very negotiable these days.  Most fees usually run more along the lines of well under $.40/transaction and that is if you do very little volume and have not been in biz long. Hopalong is correct that the service fee is a consideration in determining margins, though a very minor one.  So, the thing to look at to determine if his theory about the store not charging all customers for the credit card fees and thus being a 'pro' for the cash consumer is to see if the prices drop for cash customers or if a store has lower prices for the same products as another store that does not charge for credit card use.  We have lots of customers who come in and buy a single 22oz bottle or a six pack and put it on their credit or debit card. While those transactions cost us a  little higher % of the sale to process it is ok because the customer who spends $50 balances that out. If we charged an additional $1 for a six pack or 22oz that would not really be fair to the customer.  Just my view.

tviemont:
I guess I would be more amenable to a capped fee structure.  Some places require a $10 minimum for credit card purchases, which is pretty similar. 

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