Retailers Ready To Force Consumers To Pay ‘Swipe Fee’ For Using Plastic

[Techman]

Every one,
for all of us who think that swipe fees are against any certain TOS...
The credit card companies just settled a class action lawsuit. In their agreement merchants are allowed to charge extra swipe fees for the use of a card now.
That is why this topic started. Swipe fees will be coming along soon enough.

Move to all cash when possible and see how much more cash will be in your pockets.

 

[Locals Find!]

Just ignore the compulsory tax by private monopolies, before long you can ignore the boot on your neck. After all nothing bad can come of letting something like this carry on....?

remember, banks are doing this to look after your best interests.

You can choose not to accept credit cards at all your not required to accept them. Its called free enterprise.

However, if you choose to accept them you gotta play by their rules. Just like if I buy a sign from you I don't get to dictate how much you charge me. I can negotiate, but at the end of the day your setting the cost of that sign. I simply get to choose whether or not I wanna buy it.

So, negotiate the best rate possible for yourself. Don't try to tack your fees onto the customer. Its just stupid and it doesn't work out mathematically as a good business decision for your business.

For example:
If I ring up a $100 dollar transaction I pay 2.9% + .30. That equals $3.20. Now, say I try to pass on that $3.20 into my bill. My percentage and fee didn't change so now my transaction is $103.20 so now I owe $3.29 I still lose 9 cents. However, I spent more than the 9 cents in my time figuring out how to tack on the fee. Say that takes me 1 minute and I do 60 a day, that is $5.40 for an hour of my life. That is less than minimum wage. I could make more money doing something else for an hour. I am sure you could too.

 

[Atomic DNA]

We give a 10% discount to cash paying customers.

Our credit card fees are .25 and 1.15% per transaction. I thing that is fair.

We consider the swipe fee/transaction just a part of doing business and write it off at the end of the year. Eventually I see checks making the way of the dodo bird and cards will be staying the same. Since everything is electronic and computer based, I don't think it is far fetched that credits could be associated with your cell phone and credited/subtracted from that account.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Adtechia,
We just Charged a clients AMEX $115,567.00 over 4 payments for a big project we finished, The 3% charge that is so insignificant is $3467.01...

Can you explain to me how its good business for me to not account for this and chalk it up to free enterprise/cost of doing business?

 

[Locals Find!]

Adtechia,
We just Charged a clients AMEX $115,567.00 over 4 payments for a big project we finished, The 3% charge that is so insignificant is $3467.01...

Can you explain to me how its good business for me to not account for this and chalk it up to free enterprise/cost of doing business?

I didn't say it was insignificant. I said its not good business to pass on the fees. Congrats on the big job btw.

Now, how do you think your customer would have reacted if you told him he owed you $3,500 more for the job because, he was paying with his AMEX instead of cash?? Accepting that AMEX probably played a role in your actually getting the job. Versus if they had to pay cash or check they might not have done it at all.

In your case your in a great position to negotiate a lower rate with those kinds of numbers. The small fry like me doesn't have as much negotiating power and has to deal with whatever I can manage to get. It is all relative.

My point was sometimes we can get so caught up in the minutia of running our businesses we step over dollars to pick up nickels. I will gladly leave my nickels laying around to get at those dollars.

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

We had the job via check or charge but to use their AMEX was a bonus because none of our competitors are willing to accept them. But the fees and the fact that AMEX holds our money for 4-10 days makes it difficult for us to operate.

We have recently negotiated with our client to "recover" 1.5% of the fees for them to continue using it and they are very accepting of it because of the ability to use the card with us.

Thanks, its definitely been a growing job. We stretched ourselves for this and learned quite a bit.

 

[mopar691]

Between the bounced checks, CC fees, Bank fees, and everything else I encountered this last month I give up. I am going to start charging walnuts and squirrel poop.

Its all part of business and every one of us has to deal with it. No matter what way you take payment besides cash somehow someone is going to get their fingers in it.

 

[TXFB.INS]

Adtechia,
We just Charged a clients AMEX $115,567.00 over 4 payments for a big project we finished, The 3% charge that is so insignificant is $3467.01...

Can you explain to me how its good business for me to not account for this and chalk it up to free enterprise/cost of doing business?

We refuse AMEX because of their extra fees that they charge.

and yes you can NOT just accept this as "doing business"

 

[mark galoob]

Holy crap on a cracker I actually agree w addy on this. Lol

I accept all credit cards and are rates are excellent. I do not accept new cust checks any more.

Guys if you can't operate for a few days without amx payments I seriously question your ability to stay in business. I understand everyone needs petty cash but if your business is living that close to the edge cash flow is gonna get u eventually. It's only gonna take 1 mistake and ur done. Personally I won't operate like that. You should have the ability to access at least a few months worth of expenses to tide u over.

The one exception w cc I do is I won't charge anything under 5 dollars. Not worth the time to us to do this


Mark galoob

 

[royster13]

I run AMEX (and other CCs) through Paypal and my rate is now 2.9%....And my money is available for withdrawal immediately....

 

[Christian @ 2CT Media]

Holy crap on a cracker I actually agree w addy on this. Lol

I accept all credit cards and are rates are excellent. I do not accept new cust checks any more.

Guys if you can't operate for a few days without amx payments I seriously question your ability to stay in business. I understand everyone needs petty cash but if your business is living that close to the edge cash flow is gonna get u eventually. It's only gonna take 1 mistake and ur done. Personally I won't operate like that. You should have the ability to access at least a few months worth of expenses to tide u over.

The one exception w cc I do is I won't charge anything under 5 dollars. Not worth the time to us to do this


Mark galoob

We can operate without receiving payment for a few days, but we are a cash only company and don't use credit. Those extra days make us draw on our cash reserves more heavily. It is just inconvenient for us as a merchant to accept credit cards on these large orders and we lose a large portion of money and suffer delays.

 

[Mike F]

Dwolla is supposed to be a really good alternative to Square, dirt cheap fees too, no fee for anything under $10 (which I doubt any of you do anyway but still nice) and only 25 cents for anything over $10.

https://www.dwolla.com/business

 

[john1]

I always thought CC fees were just a write off and cost of doing businesss.....

 

[GypsyGraphics]

...its nothing more than a stupid rule from your merchant services company.

i aint payin' for your airmiles and/or rewards. especially when my average ticket is $2-3k or more.

in the end, i think i take a card once every 3-4 months. we are a B2B company exclusively so everything is company check anyways.

we use intuit payment gateway. no monthly fees. only a swipe fee if we use it and we can use it from any internet browswer.

i've been really happy with Intuit payment method (using my iPhone)... it's never even taken 24 hours for the money to show up in my account.

as for the surcharge... this weekend alone, two cashiers said to me, as i go ready to swipe my card "if you select the credit option there's no charge, but there's a fee for the debit option."

 

[10sacer]

For any customer that is paying with credit card - we just add 3.5% to the total quote and the "fee" is absorbed by the customer in the original quote or we add it to the shipping/handling charges if we are making containers to ship large prints.

I go to a lot of gun shows to pick up various tools or tents or cooking sets for Boy Scout Troop - and every single vendor will openly tell you there is a surcharge for using a credit card.

 

[mgieske]

Be careful with cc "surcharges" as it violates all major card merchant agreements in almost every state. I consider that discount to be the cost paid for good cash flow and less bad debts written off each year.

 

[Graphics2u]

For example:
If I ring up a $100 dollar transaction I pay 2.9% + .30. That equals $3.20. Now, say I try to pass on that $3.20 into my bill. My percentage and fee didn't change so now my transaction is $103.20 so now I owe $3.29 I still lose 9 cents. However, I spent more than the 9 cents in my time figuring out how to tack on the fee. Say that takes me 1 minute and I do 60 a day, that is $5.40 for an hour of my life. That is less than minimum wage. I could make more money doing something else for an hour. I am sure you could too.

Addy, I agree with most everything you said in this thread. however I think your math is mixed up here.

$100 = $3.20 Fees = net $96.80
$103.20 = $3.29 Fees = net $99.91

Yes you do owe .09 more in fees but you didn't account for the $3.20 you collected extra from the customer. Technically you can never get completely ahead this way unless your actual surcharge is more than your merchant account is charging you. (But hen you customer will feel you're ripping him off, which technically we would be, then we just became what we hate about the CC companies .) But only losing .09 cents as compared to $3.20, I'll take that.

 

[Locals Find!]

Addy, I agree with most everything you said in this thread. however I think your math is mixed up here.

$100 = $3.20 Fees = net $96.80
$103.20 = $3.29 Fees = net $99.91

Yes you do owe .09 more in fees but you didn't account for the $3.20 you collected extra from the customer. Technically you can never get completely ahead this way unless your actual surcharge is more than your merchant account is charging you. (But hen you customer will feel you're ripping him off, which technically we would be, then we just became what we hate about the CC companies .) But only losing .09 cents as compared to $3.20, I'll take that.

You got exactly what I was saying. Just worded it better. Just found out today though that in Florida your not allowed to surcharge for any reason on credit cards.

Which means I get to file suit against my electric company for every surcharge they have charged me for years. I love the law.

 

[Techman]

Be careful with cc "surcharges" as it violates all major card merchant agreements in almost every state. I consider that discount to be the cost paid for good cash flow and less bad debts written off each year.

The class lawsuit in debate for years was recently settled. The agreement allows merchants to surcharge and capture swipe fees. Swipe fees are now allowed. Read the posted link and it wil tell every one what the deal.

 

[SD&F]

I except all cards and pay resonable fees. My money always hits the next day, except AE. They may hold it a day or so, but worth it. You should call your credit card company and see if they will release funds quicker.