US -Retailers to Charge For Use of Credit Cards
 

Retailers Ready To Charge ‘Swipe Fees’ For Using Credit Cards


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AP File

NEW YORK (CBS 2) — Every time you use your credit card, the store pays up to 3 percent of your total purchase to the credit card company. It’s called a “swipe fee” and now some fed-up retailers are getting ready to pass this cost on to you, in the form of a surcharge.
While others want to reward you for paying with cash.
Paper or plastic? It’s a simple choice, but it’s about to get a lot more complicated, CBS 2’s Emily Smith reported.
“You’re going to start to see retailers really weighing what they’re going to charge consumers for using a credit card,” said Kelli Grant of Smart Money magazine.

That’s right, major retailers — from supermarkets to drug stores — may soon be charging you more if you choose to pay for an item with a credit card, instead of paying with cash.
“An extra 2 to 3 percent,” Grant said.
It’s all because Visa-MasterCard and several major banks settled a long running lawsuit alleging they conspired to fix “swipe fees.”

As part of the settlement, retailers are now allowed to charge customers a surcharge if they pay with plastic.
“It’s going to be, for consumers, an interesting dance of convenience versus cash,” Grant said.
Grant, a consumer expert, said up until now most business owners rolled the cost of processing a credit card into the prices customers pay. But for businesses that sell small-ticket items and are hit hard by 3 percent swipe fees, it may make more sense to ask for the surcharge. :crap:
END


Poor old American people, they are getting hit again by the "Good Old Boys Monetary Club" :mad:
As if they arent struggling enough....


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Re: US -Retailers to Charge For Use of Credit Cards
 

Re: US -Retailers to Charge For Use of Credit Cards
 

Its dreadful isnt it,,,,pure greed. I just hope that other countries dont follow suit

Re: US -Retailers to Charge For Use of Credit Cards
 

Ummmm... We've been getting charged these fees for years. Most computer shops, petrol stations and so on have always charged 2% if using a credit card.
I don't know about supermarkets as I haven't really used a credit card there.
I'm suprised the stores in the USA have not been passing on this charge.
After all, the store isn't charging the fee, YOUR credit card company is.

Re: US -Retailers to Charge For Use of Credit Cards
 

Either way they both make money out of you. The stores want your business and charge customers enough levy on top of the cost of their goods/services to absorb this charge. If they start doing this, I wonder if they will bring down the costs of their goods/services by eliminating the extra 2% charge.
I doubt it, dont you? ;)

Thanks for replying yak

Re: US -Retailers to Charge For Use of Credit Cards
 

We have been paying these charges for years now and they just keep going up and up, But I have joined a class action in getting back all the money banks have been "stealing" from us over (so many years)


Bank Fees Class Action

Maurice Blackburn announced in May 2010 that it intended to sue 12 Australian banks for charging customers unfair fees. These fees include honour and dishonour fees on bank accounts, as well as over limit fees and late payment fees on credit cards.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians who were charged these unfair fees by the banks have signed up online to be part of the action to redeem their money plus interest - and it's not too late to join.

Maurice Blackburn issued proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against the ANZ bank in September 2010 in the first of a series of bank fee class actions for repayment of fees they have charged their customers over the last six years.

On 16 December 2011, proceedings were issued against Citibank, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac.

On 1 February 2012, proceedings were issued in respect of claims against St George and BankSA.

On 18 April 2012, proceedings were issued against BankWest.

The four other banks against which proceedings are proposed to be issued are Bank of Queensland, Bendigo Bank, HSBC, and Suncorp.

With claims estimated at over $200 million launched against seven banks on behalf of around 160,000 customers, this is by far the largest collective legal action in Australia. It is not too late to join the action against the banks, even though proceedings have been launched.

The claim against the ANZ, which will be a template for the other actions, alleges that exception fees are fees incurred as a result of a breach of contract by the customer which are more than a reasonable pre-estimate of the actual cost to the bank of that breach.

Such fees are lawfully recoverable if they constitute a penalty charged by the bank - that is, if they are out of all proportion to the true cost of any breach to the bank. Maurice Blackburn estimates that the 12 banks have charged their customers in excess of $5 billion dollars for late payment, dishonour fees and other exception fees over the last six years.

The claim also alleges that the charging of the exception fees was unconscionable, unfair and unjust.

On Monday 5 December 2011, the Federal Court of Australia found in favour of ANZ account holders who were charged late credit card fees. The judgment has been lauded by Andrew Watson, the lawyer overseeing the class action, as a small step in the case but a significant leap for Australian bank customers.

The Federal Court found in favour of the ANZ bank regarding four other types of exception fees. Maurice Blackburn is appealing this ruling.

The class actions are funded by IMF (Australia) Ltd, on a 'no win no charge' basis. This means that IMF covers all the legal costs and only gets paid if the cases are successful. IMF also agrees to meet the banks' costs if the cases are unsuccessful. There is no cost to class action participants unless they successfully recover money.

For more information about the bank fees class actions, go to the secure website . Financial Redress is a wholly owned subsidiary of IMF. Registration of your interest can only be made on this website.

If you have further queries after visiting the Financial Redress website you can telephone 1300 4 REDRESS (1300 473 373). It is a matter for you whether or not you join these class actions. Although we consider the cases have reasonable prospects of success, you should feel free to obtain independent legal advice.

Maurice Blackburn is aware that scammers have been contacting people and asking for payment and bank account details in order supposedly to process refunds due from exception fees paid. Anyone who receives a call asking for this type of information should be wary. The calls appear to be designed to extract money or information from people fraudulently. Neither Maurice Blackburn nor Financial Redress ask anyone for such information over the phone, nor demands such advance payments.

Owing to the number of bank customers participating in the cases, please do not telephone our office as we will be unable to deal with your enquiry. Please call 1300 4 REDRESS (1300 474 373).

Watch Andrew Watson talking about the first five banks in the class action.


Read our media statements:

Maurice Blackburn announces legal action against 12 banks

Fraudsters not stopping thousands of bank customers signing up for class action

ANZ first of the banks to face penalty fees class action

ANZ class action still open; members reminded of safety

Federal Court blasts ANZ over abuse of process in bank fees case

ANZ Bank fees class action steps up a gear tomorrow

Federal Court rules against bank's credit card fees

Five banks including the 'Big Four' in class action

More big banks drawn into class action on unfair fees

Regional communities stand up to unfair bank fees

Re: US -Retailers to Charge For Use of Credit Cards
 

Welcome to the discussion yak.

err, yes and no. The issue here is that the merchants pay a fee for the credit card use. One the merchant is forced to absorb the cost of, not to mention having to buy his way into this racket. He's in a loosing position where failing to accept the credit card costs him business through good will or accepting the card costs him loss of profit. None of the merchants can get out of these swipe fees because the major banks schemed to set the rate, which is against anti-trust laws here in the US.

These swipe fees take a whack at the profit margin that independent merchants are planning on to keep the store open. They've slowly been climbing over the years, not to mention the other requirements they have to meet, such as security for computer data at the merchant's cost and requiring they hold back up records of transactions.

It's another scheme to collect for fees anyway they can get them and it's been going on for years. The recent court case means the merchant can now pass those required fees on to the customer that is buying with plastic, so only those creating the fees will be charged those fees.