Credit card industry squeezes small business

Chicago Sun Times ^ | 10/4/2013 | Maruti Seth

[driftdiver]

Its good to have a monopoly

[blueunicorn6]

He’s running on 1-3% margins?

[VerySadAmerican]

He should give cash discounts. I remember when retail clerks used to ask “Cash or charge?” There are some retail oil companies that give a discount if you use their card. They don’t have to pay a fee to themselves.

[palmer]

Too bad. When I eat at Burger King (every year or two) I pay cash. If he doesn’t like it, he should tell Burger King to issue their own credit card. I always pay $40-50 cash at my local gas / convenience store because it is not a chain and I don’t want them losing 2% when their gas margin is only a few percent. The main reason is they are 3 miles away and the next nearest is 7 miles.

[Cicero]

Our local store charges extra if you use a credit card on small purchases. And several of the restaurants we go to in town do the same thing.

I use a credit card because it’s a lot more convenient than carrying a lot of cash around. But that may change, as the banks charge more and more for the privilege.

[Mr. Jeeves]

Amex is the worst. They hold the merchant's money for up to 5 days after the sale and profit from the float - and their swipe fees are higher than Visa and MasterCard. Getting them to provide documents when necessary is like pulling teeth. And they like to promote Small Business Saturday and other such feel-good garbage, when they are the single most anti-small business entity in existence...this side of the Federal Government.

High net worth customers like to use Amex, though, so refusing to take it is not a good option.

[RKBA Democrat]

So pay cash.

[Paladin2]

I think debit cards ave smaller fees.

At some gas stations' pumps I get the cash price when using a debit card.

[SeeSharp]

The real reason this is happening is because the government has engineered a massive consolidation of the banking industry. There aren't any mid sized regional banks anymore. There are a few small town independents. Then there are the megabanks.

When I was in retail back in the 70's we used to play banks off against each other to get lower rates. Our McVisa rate at one time was only 0.79 percent. A regional bank in Florida gave us a merchant account at that rate even though we were a Houston retail company.

[SeeSharp]

Some merchants do that. But technically it’s a violation of their merchant agreement. The bank could terminate the merchant’s account for it.

[SamAdams76]

This really shouldn't affect retailers at all as they can simply increase their prices to cover the fees.

The credit card companies need to make money too and they provide a valuable service by making it unnecessary for consumers to carry around cash.

[palmer]

I think the government regulated those recently. That should have been left alone just like credit cards. Once the fees are high enough the market will create cheaper alternatives especially in the age of the internet.

[Henry Hnyellar]

Bit of an over statement. I’ve had a charge card since the early 1980s and was most certainly not a member of an any small club of “affluent customers.” then. I am not today, as well. That said, I’ve never used a credit card at a fast food joint.

“When I opened my first store in 1994, cash was king and “charge cards,” as they then were called, were status symbols held by a tiny number of affluent customers.”

[Tupelo]

There is no one forcing you to accept plastic.
Go cash only and take checks if you want. Or set a minimum amount for card use. $5.00 - $10.00. A common practice. As a former owner of a retail store, I gladly accepted the cards. Especially the debit cards, since I could eliminate bounced checks and the expense and hassle they caused.
But I know of many small stores and restaurants that only accept cash or checks for the same reason you stated.Most say it works out fine. Plus that makes it easier to sell a lot of sam-iches OTB.

[Chode]

in NY it's illegal... they tried that a couple years ago with gas and there was a lot of trouble over it

[esoxmagnum]

Our business did NOT accept Amex.

For one, it was too easy for the customer to dispute the charges (which some do to try and scam you) and it was hell trying to get paid after a claim like that.

Plus the fees. We gave it up a dozen years ago. Visa, MC, and Paypal, check, money order, or cash (which we offered a 10% discount for) were our offerings. Take it or leave it, or find another contractor. We also did our financing through our own credit union / bank for big jobs. Too much risk for us to do the financing.

[Grams A]

I think debit cards ave smaller fees. “

If you are a merchant that accepts credit cards there are all kinds of fees that are charged, depending on the means you use to process the card. The new Square charges a flat fee regardless. On-line terminal input of recurring charges charges less for debit cards but way more if a card has a special program linked to it - like the airline mileage accumulator. Just depends and there is no way to tell what the percentage will be until you check your monthly statement.

Convenience matters more to customers than what the merchant is being charged - unless you happen to be one of those merchants.

[SeminoleCounty]

He should give cash discounts. I remember when retail clerks used to ask “Cash or charge?” There are some retail oil companies that give a discount if you use their card. They don’t have to pay a fee to themselves.

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I agree,,,,but some states now have laws to prevent this, and, the credit card companies will not allow you to do this in their contracts w stores.

Some of the immigrant stores still charge less for cash...but most are prevented from laws and credit card/bank contracts

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

The guy's right. I remember several years ago WalMart got turned down from forming an industrial bank. They would be their own credit card processor and save themselves (and consumers via lower prices) millions of dollars. Naturally, the Congressional Rats voted it down.

This is all part of crony capitalism, and what happens when governments sticks its nose into the markets.