Hugh,
It seems that at least several times a week there’s a link on SurvivalBlog to a story about the war on cash. Several years ago my city’s water utility department stopped sending preaddressed envelopes in my monthly statement. I assumed this was an effort to get me to quit sending them my payment by check and pay online with a credit/debit card. Today as I was writing my check, a flyer in the statement announced changes to their credit card policy which surprised me since I thought they wanted credit card payments. It started by saying how they were finding operating efficiencies and reducing controllable costs. Next came this, “Two payment methods topped all others in operating expenses. Those were payments at customer care locations and online credit/debit card payments. Costs associated with credit/debit transactions come from fees that credit card companies charge Arlington Water Utilities. It was an expense of more than $540,000 in 2016– that amount is the equivalent of a one percent water/sewer rate increase for Arlington residents.” It went on to say that if you were going to pay online with a credit card or come into a payment location that you would be charged a $3 convenience charge and you can no longer pay at the counter to a customer care staff person if you used a card. You now have to go to a kiosk to use a card and pay the fee; however if you want to pay with cash, check, or money order, you can visit a customer care staff person. They finished by saying that with the new policy, they expect to save residents at least $540,000 yearly. So I wrote my check feeling good about how much money I’d saved myself and fellow taxpayers by not adding card fees to the city’s expenses.
On a different but related subject, one of my younger co-workers commented today that he was surprised when he went to a Spec’s Liquor Store that they charge an additional 10% if you use a credit/debit card. He didn’t say if he was going to start paying cash, but I now have another avenue to talk to him and the other young co-workers about what’s going on in the world financial system. – M.D
I’m surprised that they didn’t already charge a fee for using credit cards. Our local electric utility charged a fee from day one in accepting credit cards. They are expensive to use from the seller’s point of view even though they are convient for the consumer. Of course that is passed on to the consumer. Even when paying owed state income taxes the state charges a fee. Ironically, the state I’m in will not charge a fee for a debit card (directly from an account) but will with a credit card.
Credit cards charge a fee for their use, debit cards do not. Don’t lump them together. They are two entirely different things. Its an electronic check.
Specs charges extra for CREDIT cards, not DEBIT cards when processed as DEBIT rather than CREDIT.
To Dirk — debit cards do assess a fee to sellers, it is just less than the fee for credit cards.