Based on what we heard from reports and news – According to the people who sell things, the fee for using a credit card during the big back-to-school time could make things really hard for shoppers. It might end up being a really big amount, like $3 billion.
Highlights:
- The constant imposition of swipe fees, charged whenever a credit card is utilized for purchases, has brought banks and businesses to a boiling point.
- According to the Merchants Payments Coalition, the use of swipe fees this year will contribute to an increase of over $3 billion in the cost of school and college supplies.
- In addition, electronic transactions play a vital role.
This year, back-to-school spending is on the rise, while consumers find themselves covering an additional credit card fee.
The National Retail Federation thinks that people will spend a lot, around $41.5 billion, on back-to-school things this time.
But, when stores use credit cards like Visa or MasterCard, they have to pay extra fees for each time. This is called a swipe fee.
A group called the Merchants Payments Coalition says that these fees might make school stuff cost more by over $3 billion this year.
Personal Finance perspective:
A person who helps businesses and a member of a group that cares about how stores pay, Doug Kantor, said, “Fees for using credit cards are really, really high and make everything cost more.”
In the last ten years, fees for using credit cards, also called interchange fees, have grown a lot. They became more than double the amount they used to be. Last year, they went up by $22 billion and reached a really big $160.7 billion. In 2001, when the National Retail Federation started watching how much Visa and MasterCard took as fees, it was only about $20 billion.
According to Kantor, the money is a lot, and it seems like the banks get something every time someone uses a card. He also said that this makes banks almost like part-owners of every small store on the main street.
Benefit of Card payments
Usually, banks and card companies take about 2% from each time a store uses a credit card to pay.
Because stores don’t make as much money as before, they’re making customers pay most or all of this extra cost.
A group called the Electronic Payments Coalition says that using credit cards helps stores in many ways. It makes them sell more, have more customers, and be safe from fraud. They also know they’ll get their money. But, like they said, these good things happen in the background, so customers might not notice right away.
Ed Rossman, a senior industry analyst at creditcards.com, who knows a lot about credit cards, said that stores have mixed feelings about them. He thinks credit cards can make people spend more money, so stores shouldn’t make it hard for customers to use them.
He also said that customers gain something from the fees stores pay for using credit cards. This money helps give people rewards with their cards. Some cards can give you back 6% of what you spend at grocery stores, and other cards might give you 2% back. He thinks rewards are important and wants people to remember that credit cards can be really helpful.
FAQs
Q. Can you add a surcharge to credit card payments?
A. In many places, companies can ask you to pay a little extra if you use a credit card. This extra money, which could be a percentage of what you bought, helps the companies pay for the cost of processing the credit card payment.
Q. What is the purpose of credit card fees?
A. Each network, like Mastercard and Visa, decides on interchange fees. These fees change twice a year, in April and October. Interchange fees help the bank that gave you the card with things like covering the risks of approving your purchase, handling costs, and problems like fraud.
