Comment by WheatMillington
3 hours ago
Here in New Zealand retailers can (and do) add transaction fees for cards at the terminal. It's a smart thing, because it causes the processing costs of expensive payment types to be borne by the customer who is using the expensive payment method. It sends strong signals and allows the customer to decide whether to use the convenient-but-expensive method.
Unfortunately it has become a popular idea to ban the surcharging of these costs by retailers, so it's likely to be outlawed by next year, which is completely asinine. Now we'll be back to a situation where customers who use a cheap payment method will be subsidizing customers who use an expensive payment method.
> Now we'll be back to a situation where customers who use a cheap payment method will be subsidizing customers who use an expensive payment method.
And guess who wins there...
Just curious, how is this not painfully obvious and so there's opposition to it? Nobody is expecting this to lower prices, right...
> It's a smart thing, because it causes the processing costs of expensive payment types to be borne by the customer who is using the expensive payment method
Why the same logic does not apply to cash payments? They have costs too.
> Unfortunately it has become a popular idea to ban the surcharging of these costs by retailers, so it's likely to be outlawed by next year, which is completely asinine.
It's completely sane. Surcharges are now outlawed in Australia (from 1 Oct) and I finally paid for my coffee exactly the same amount that was written in the blackboard. Businesses that do not want to absorb the 0.5% fees are free to stop accepting credit cards or can raise prices (none near me did that so far). That's fine, the most important thing is if coffee is 5.50, you pay 5.50, not some random amount.
I agree with your assessment. If I want to use cash then I should be able to and at a cash price. If I want to pay with a card and that card come with transaction fees, convenience fees, and insurance fees (e.g. the card issuer east fraud) then I should pay for it, not the guy using cash.
For some years, it has been the practice of non-profits to present an opt-in fee payment to donors, such as for an online card donation. They will expose the fees that they will pay for the transaction, and ask you to cover them so that they enjoy the maximal donation. This has always been opt-in until last week.
Last week, I visited two unrelated non-profit museums, and when there is free admission I strive to make a freewill donation to show my appreciation and lend support to the mission. I offered the same amount to each location, and the second one, according to my bank statement, has involuntarily charged me for the fees as well. No wonder they greatly prefer tossing cash into the Plexiglas box.