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NEW Surcharges on Credit Cards

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daisy

New member
Has anyone checked into this and do they do it. I know in 10 states it is illegal, I am in a state where it is not illegal. But I did some research and starting on January 27 of this month merchants are allowed to add a surcharge to credit card purchases, not on debit or prepaid cards. So has anyone else looked into it or do they do it already???
 
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I think such a tactic will have a “drastic” negative effect on your sales…
 
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I was not planning on it. I was just having a conversation with one of my workers, he had told me that a pizza shop over by his house is doing it. And I thought it was illegal, until i googled it and visa web came uo with the new law
 
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it all depends on your sales volume I only did 5600 in C/C Sales last month and had to pay $209 in fees so I will be adding the surcharge

Dennis
 
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So Dennis you have no concern that those that get offended by the surcharge will go elsewhere?..
 
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I have played out this scene in my mind a number of times. I looked at it from every angle i could imagine. I looked at my reaction to places I shop that have a surcharge. In the end I decided it all comes down to educating my customers.

I have a sign in my store that was provided by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses which reads:

Would you consider paying by cash, check or Interac?
You may not know that small businesses pay huge fees to the banks and credit card companies to process credit card transactions. Will you help independent firms keep prices down?

Since posting this sign more than 60% of my customers chose to use a better option for me.
 
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Richard that is tremendous…I offer Interac e-Transfers on my invoices but it is not used often…Perhaps I can put a little more verbiage on my invoices and see what happens…
 
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royster13:
So Dennis you have no concern that those that get offended by the surcharge will go elsewhere?..
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What makes adding a 25 cent charge to a CC any different than having a Delivery Fee? I know all the gas stations used to have a “Discount for cash”, I think it was like 3 cents a gallon. I have an online ordering site I use for campus (www.hungrybuffs.com) and they have a “processing fee” of which they get 45 cents, I get 30 cents and then I pay my normal fee to them for their service along with CC fees.

Back when checks were more prevelant we had a check charge of 25 cents. I wish people paid with cash or even CHECK (the amount of BAD DEBT i used to get in bounced checks is far less than the fees I pay for CC’s) as I do $130,000 in CC sales per month in the 3 shops - which is over 60% of the sales. Add on top of that, that we are paying fees to CC companies on Sales Taxes collected.
 
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royster13:
So Dennis you have no concern that those that get offended by the surcharge will go elsewhere?..
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No because I am the only place that delivers.

alot of places like gun shops & Wrecker services add a charge
 
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well I guess I won’t be adding a surcharge because apparently it illegal in Oklahoma

That Sucks

anybody know where I can find that script Daddio was talking about
 
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Back when checks were more prevelant we had a check charge of 25 cents. I wish people paid with cash or even CHECK (the amount of BAD DEBT i used to get in bounced checks is far less than the fees I pay for CC’s) as I do $130,000 in CC sales per month in the 3 shops - which is over 60% of the sales. Add on top of that, that we are paying fees to CC companies on Sales Taxes collected.

I long for the day ( back in the 90’s ) when we took checks and charged a service fee for them.

Back then: Took in $300 to $400 per month in check fee’s and had $600 or $700 in bad checks. Total cost to us $300 per month. Didn’t take credit cards back then. And I was outraged about this 😦

Today: $2500 to $3000 per month in credit card processing fees. Total cost to us $2500 to $3000. 😦

David
pizzapirates.net
 
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My honest opinion is that you are better off giving a cash discount. It sounds better to customers than charging an additional fee. But about 50-60% of my sales are credit card. If it comes down to it, raise your prices for everybody. The majority of your customers will not say much if you raise your pizza prices by 10 cents. But I’d bet they will complain if you tell them you are charging them 25 or even the 10 cents for using a credit card. Just my .02.
H
 
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We have had surcharge fees here for some time but we haven’t introduced them as yet in our store.
Many, many places are either surcharging 2 -3 % for using your card, either debit or credit while some add anywhere from 30c to $1 fee for using it.
Like many places we have a $10 min purchase on cards to offset the set purchase fee. No way am I doing a card transaction for $4 and paying a 20c fee plus % depending on Mastercard or Visa or Credit vs Debit. We don’t do Amex or Diners due to their slow settlement and high % fee.
The 2 big supermarket chains and their linked discount dept stores, major hardware stores and the big liquor stores are fee free but we all know they build into there (non competitive through bulk buying) pricing.
Many of the airlines charge $7 - $30 for using credit cards for paying online bookings and people just pay it (reluctantly) but keep using the said airline over and over.
Everywhere you go there is the small sign on the till stating the credit card surcharge.
There is talk of major increases in card fees coming, spearheaded by Mastercard, and I will re-look at introducing fees when I see what the implications are. At this stage we do around 50% of our sales payments with cards (75% debit, 25% credit) so it takes a fair bit of our margin.
The card companies have developed over the years a dependency/convenience on using cards promoting it heavily, but continually creeping the merchant fees up and up, often unbeknown to the consumers who think we pay nothing to do transactions.
They have the consumer and the retailers hook, line and sinker and are now frying the retailer.
Time to rethink our strategy on surcharges.
Dave
 
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What I find interesting is that I’m in Kansas, and a couple of years ago I had to pay in to the IRS for my taxes and was charged a “convenience fee” for paying with a debit card… :?
 
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“Keep in mind, surcharging is illegal in 10 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.”

I guess I do not have to spend any time deciding whether to do it since it is illegal in my state, but for the rest of you, if you think your customer will object to a CC fee but you think you need to recover these expenses just raise your prices. Assuming half your sales are CC and your average pizza is $15 you would need to raise your prices 25 cents to cover it.

With the changes in food costs over the last year or two, it is time for a price increase in any case.
 
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Along the same lines, many of the gas stations in our area offer a “cash” discount. I agree that it is better to increase the cost across the board and then offer a cash discount as opposed to saying that there will be an added fee for credit card transactions. One you are being offered a discount, and the other you are being penalized. I also know of places that offer a cash discount with any purchase over $50.00, again making the customer feel warm and fuzzy.
Tom Lehmann/The Dough Doctor
 
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What I woul really like to do is pick and choose what cards I accept. I do not mean visa or Amex… (We already do not take Amex) but I would like to pass on the high fee cards that pay double miles and cash back etc. Those are the ones with the crazy fees. I would like to be able to set my CC acceptance by fee structure… i.e. not take anything with a fee over say… 2%.
 
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