</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Puzzling to me why Walmart (and others) don't just add the charge from the credit cards to the price, same as the way they add the state sales tax. )</font>
All credit card companies have clauses in their contracts with the merchants that forbid the merchant from charging a separate fee to cover the credit card fee. If a merchant is caught doing it, their credit card privileges can be canceled. Merchants generally accept the cost of the credit card processing fee as a cost of doing business, like paying for freight, because the extra sales they make due to the credit card access far outweighs the fees.
On the other hand, excessive fees are often cause for a business to not take a card. American Express, for example, charges more than double what MC. Visa and Discover charge, because they don't charge their customers interest, and they have to make money somehow. In my business, I knew that every AmEx card holder also has a MC or Visa, so I refused to take AmEx and pay the high fee.
If a business does take AmEx, they have a clause in the contract that specifically prohibits the merchant from suggesting that a customer use another card because the processing fee is lower.
With regards to debit cards, small businesses have a choice. They can pay a slightly higher fee for processing the card as a credit card, or pay a lower fee per transaction for the debit cards, but incur costs in the monthly fees and terminal costs. It depends on volume. In my small business, I used a computer-based POS that had a credit card processing module, and owned a credit card reader, so I had no monthly terminal costs. I elected to process debit cards as credit cards because my volume of debit card use was low.
Walmart can afford the fees. It sounds like they are trying to use their enormous clout to force MC to lower their fees, just like they do to vendors to lower the cost of goods. They really don't care whether MC goes out of business, or not.
Your bank should be able and willing to issue you a Visa-based debit card at no charge, even though you already have a MC. I no longer have any credit cards. If I don't have the money in the bank to cover the debit card, I don't buy the item. It's nice to be debt-free.
All credit card companies have clauses in their contracts with the merchants that forbid the merchant from charging a separate fee to cover the credit card fee. If a merchant is caught doing it, their credit card privileges can be canceled. Merchants generally accept the cost of the credit card processing fee as a cost of doing business, like paying for freight, because the extra sales they make due to the credit card access far outweighs the fees.
On the other hand, excessive fees are often cause for a business to not take a card. American Express, for example, charges more than double what MC. Visa and Discover charge, because they don't charge their customers interest, and they have to make money somehow. In my business, I knew that every AmEx card holder also has a MC or Visa, so I refused to take AmEx and pay the high fee.
If a business does take AmEx, they have a clause in the contract that specifically prohibits the merchant from suggesting that a customer use another card because the processing fee is lower.
With regards to debit cards, small businesses have a choice. They can pay a slightly higher fee for processing the card as a credit card, or pay a lower fee per transaction for the debit cards, but incur costs in the monthly fees and terminal costs. It depends on volume. In my small business, I used a computer-based POS that had a credit card processing module, and owned a credit card reader, so I had no monthly terminal costs. I elected to process debit cards as credit cards because my volume of debit card use was low.
Walmart can afford the fees. It sounds like they are trying to use their enormous clout to force MC to lower their fees, just like they do to vendors to lower the cost of goods. They really don't care whether MC goes out of business, or not.
Your bank should be able and willing to issue you a Visa-based debit card at no charge, even though you already have a MC. I no longer have any credit cards. If I don't have the money in the bank to cover the debit card, I don't buy the item. It's nice to be debt-free.
