$5.00 Minimum Purchase for Debit/Credit Card Use?
- 10
- Add a Comment
- No Related Post
I have been going to a local convenience store just about every morning for many years. My usual purchase is a small energy drink and a pack of cigarettes, which as of a year ago, comes to the total of $4.32. I do not carry cash and use my debit card for purchases and have had no problems.
Recently, I handed my debit card to the cashier and was told “Sorry, you have to spend $5.00 minimum to use a debit card.” and she pointed to a hand written sign on the counter that I missed. I left my items on the counter and went elsewhere.
Why did I refuse to do business there? I mean it’s only a few cents more to buy right? Well, I do not believe that making me buy a certain amount just because I coose to use my debit card is fair to me as a customer. I have owned my own business and I know the fees that merchant accounts charge for the ability to process plastic, but I don’t think that the cost should be paid for by the customer, at least, not in this manner. I think there are better ways to do this than tell me I must purchase a certain amount.
If they raised thier prices a few cents to recoup thier costs I can accept that. Really though, the merchant fees, if I remember correctly, are rather high and that should be taken up with them, not the customer. If the fees are costing the company more money than they make using it, then they should stop using the service or move to another company that has better rates for lower sales per month.
You see this more and more in convinence stores especially. Requiring the customer to purchase a minimum amount is not the way to do business, especially in this sort of store. People go there to buy small items like a Coke or a pack of smokes. If they are not getting gas, rarely does the price exceed $5.00, at least for me. I refuse to be told how much I have to spend in a store just because I choose to use a debit card. More and more people are like me and carry no cash besides the little bit of change to get a soda from the machine at work. It is safer and easier to control.
Bottom line here is this. If the store cannot afford to pay the merchant fees that they agreed to, then they should either stop accepting plastic, or find another merchant that charges less. There are numerous merchants out there that charge based on the amount of business the store does, it is simply a matter of shopping around.
One final note here: Yeasterday I went to the store out of habit and I forgot about thier new minimum purchase policy. When I got to the counter I remembered about it, apologized to the cashier and began to put my energy drink back in the cooler. The manager came to me and told me that since I have been comming there for so long that the rule does not apply to me. That’s nice, but not really fair to other customers, so I chose to go ahead and take my business to another store.
What are your thoughts on this minimum purchase for using plastic that is getting more popular?
UPDATE: After recieving the comment from Darian I began to do some research. It turns out that it is indeed against the Merchant Policy to require a minimum purchace to use your card. This is true for Visa as well as Mastercard. In the comming days I will be informing the store of this and possibly reporting them to thier merchant company, Visa or both. Thanks Darian for your information!
10 Comments
Darian
August 12th, 2008
at 8:25am
It’s against their merchant agreement to charge a minimum amount, and you should report them to either Visa or Mastercard, or whoever your card is issued by. They will usually correct the merchant’s behavior.
Brandon Mulnix
August 13th, 2008
at 8:29pm
I arrived at you site after looking for information on Minimum Purchases, because recently I have been denied purchasing $4.30 worth of product at two different stores. I was rather upset when I left and I made sure I told them it was against Merchant Account Rules. They said as long as they had to pay the fee’s they could do what they wanted.
Marnen Laibow-Koser
September 19th, 2008
at 6:46am
I have set up the Minimum Purchase Hall of Shame to identify merchants who do this. It’s at http://minimumpurchase.livejournal.com ; come check it out!
Sammy
October 6th, 2008
at 12:56pm
Does anyone carry cash anymore?
How any one walks around without carrying 5$ cash
………………………
susanna
October 25th, 2008
at 1:27pm
I recently bought a dollar store. When a customer comes in and buys a $1 item and charges it to debit, I am basically providing him/her a service and a CONVENIENCE for free. As a small player I can’t get a cheaper rate for the bank charges, and I really can’t see how I can raise the price of my $1 items. Guess this is one of those situations where when you are on the other side of the boat you’d think you’re righteous and fair, and then if you find you’re on the other side you’d know the difficulties. I don’t have a problem of people taking their business elsewhere, but I VERY MUCH DO APPRECIATE the ones that don’t mind carrying a bit fo cash around to help small neighborhood store owerns like me. Not all of us want to have to drive to WALMART every day!
Josh
January 10th, 2009
at 1:36am
It isn’t a convenience, as you call it, to be able to use one’s money (and yes, money is money) to buy goods. Noone should charge you to pay them money! There’s nothing fair about it. Find a better merchant or don’t have the swipe machines. It isn’t and never was an ‘extra service’, its a scam. I remember years of using the card without question. And lately, it is the convenience stores (where the prices are ridiculous already) that are doing it.
Bottom line is that people carry debit cards because they don’t want to carry cash. Railroading us because you see the opportunity to exploit a “convenience” is as silly as charging customers a “heating” fee so that they can warm up while they’re paying 1.89 for a 2-liter!
Kris
February 21st, 2009
at 4:28pm
Why made the bank rich and small business suffer cost? I can understand using credit card for defer payment but using debit card and making the bank wealthy is nonsense and wasteful.
Marcus
May 1st, 2009
at 9:47am
Convenience stores often end up losing money, because the profit margin is less than the fees they incur for swiping our cards. Then we want a bag for our item — which again costs them money. They cannot be compared to Walmart and Safeway — they’re usually family-owned businesses who are trying to earn their living in the most efficient way possible. If you can’t afford to spend $5 or pay a small fee, I suggest you shop in bulk elsewhere. Let’s not forget the fact that you pay more than $1 to use an ATM machine.
Dave
May 21st, 2009
at 1:55pm
Waaaah, “I’m trying to make a living” guess what, you picked the wrong line of work. You signed the agreement with the credit card vendor. It’s the cost of doing business. You take the hit on a few small purchases to gain the traffic that Visa/MC brings. If you don’t like it, run your store without it. Oh, that’s right, you’d go out of business.
The point is, you signed a contract, now honor it or pick another line of work.
Since when do you get to pick and choose which rules you get to follow?
clayts
June 16th, 2009
at 6:35am
http://usa.visa.com/about_visa/ask_visa/index.html#anchor_4
I printed this out and highlighted the minimum purchase part, every time a merchant pulls the ” you cannot use your card under this amount” crap i just pull this paper out and show them, let them read it then i call visa right there and they swipe my card right away. works every time.