# Businesses that don't accept debit/credit cards **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2016, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533 "2016-04-18T03:43:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/21 "2016-04-18T14:34:23Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > She’s across the plaza from the DMV. They don’t take plastic either. > [@kayaker](#): > > Heh. The last time I had to pay for a new driver’s license I was surprised to find that they _did not accept cash_. California DMV takes cash, checks, money orders and debit cards. Won’t take credit cards. They do take credit cards for online transactions. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/22 "2016-04-18T14:36:24Z")
The municipal parking garage across from the Guthrie theatre only takes cash during shows. Its $8, I don’t carry cash, and I’ve learned to swing through the bank drive through ATM when I have tickets. You can use on street meters with a credit card from your cell phone. But you have to plug the meter during intermission - from your cell phone - but I tend to forget. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/23 "2016-04-18T14:42:28Z")
There are a few gas stations in suburban Maryland that take cash only. They claim that this results in a lower price. Considering that their prices are quite low, it is plausible. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/24 "2016-04-18T14:44:51Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The Dollar General store near me has stopped accepting MasterCard Credit cards, because they refused to be blackmailed into paying higher and higher transaction fees for small purchases. They say the fees often swallow the markup. . But will they accept Visa or Discover? I know a lot of businesses refuse to accept American Express, because they are infamous for having the highest fees (for retailers) of any major card. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/25 "2016-04-18T14:47:44Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > So it’s not hard to set up to take credit cards. But it’s harder to account for it. Card transactions incur a fee, which cuts into the profit from that sale; to account for that, you need to jack up the prices on _everything_ in your store. How much? Depends how much of your business is done with credit cards, and how much is with cash. Be careful: get it wrong, and you’ll either chase away your customers with high prices, or run your business into the ground with too little profit. Also, AIUI, business owners are the ones who get shafted in the event of a fraudulent card transaction. For massive national retail businesses like Target or Home Depot, the impact of any single instance of fraud can be cushioned by all of the other retail activity. A single $1000 fraud at one store on one day isn’t a big deal for them, but a single $1000 fraud at your little mom-and-pop bookstore might mean they can’t pay the rent this month. Here in Ann Arbor, [Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger](http://www.blimpyburger.com/) is a cash-only business. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/26 "2016-04-18T14:56:16Z")
There’s a burrito joint near me that won’t take credit/debit. The weird thing is that the sign says it’s due to “repeated problems with the credit card machine”. Assuming that’s true, it has to make more sense to get a new card reader than to keep losing sales when people don’t have cash in pocket. It’s been like this for at least a year now and I know I rarely go there for lunch because I rarely have the cash on my and there isn’t a convenient no-fee ATM along the way. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/27 "2016-04-18T15:04:19Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I don’t think there is anywhere that you can use a credit card to buy gold coins, or other forms of investment-grade metals. Sure there are. The biggest online coin and bullion dealers all take credit cards–but you pay a few percent more. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/28 "2016-04-18T15:11:49Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > For a long time Sam’s Club would not take cards, just pointed to an ATM in the corner. I have been a Sam’s Club member for about 20 years, the only restriction they have had on cards is no Visa cards, everything else was fine. And they have always accepted all debit cards. Using a card is the only way to pay for gas, you can’t pay with cash. Costco only accepts American Express credit cards, none of the others. I shop at both and my only credit card is a Visa. This has saved me a lot of money over the years. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/29 "2016-04-18T15:12:18Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I was recently in a bookstore in Yakima (eastern Washington State), and visited a local bookstore named Churchill’s. It’s a great little bookstore and I intended to purchase quite a bit there… > …until I found out it took neither debit nor credit cards. (Oddly enough, it did take checks.) It struck me as really bizarre, especially since I can use cards at even the smallest corner stores. Have you run into any businesses that do this? And do you know any good reasons a store owner would have a “no cards” policy? A popular deli in Winslow, Maine, known for making frigging huge sandwiches, accepts only cash. Their business does not seem to suffer any for this decision. They don’t want to pay the CC merchant fees, or deal with charge-backs and disputes. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/30 "2016-04-18T15:23:24Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I have been a Sam’s Club member for about 20 years, the only restriction they have had on cards is no Visa cards, everything else was fine. And they have always accepted all debit cards. Using a card is the only way to pay for gas, you can’t pay with cash. Costco only accepts American Express credit cards, none of the others. I shop at both and my only credit card is a Visa. This has saved me a lot of money over the years. [CostCo is dropping](http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/02/29/american-express-selling-costco-portfolio-to-citibank/81101748/) AmEx in June. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/31 "2016-04-18T15:33:48Z")
> [@racer72](#): > > I have been a Sam’s Club member for about 20 years, the only restriction they have had on cards is no Visa cards, everything else was fine. And they have always accepted all debit cards. Using a card is the only way to pay for gas, you can’t pay with cash. Costco only accepts American Express credit cards, none of the others. I shop at both and my only credit card is a Visa. This has saved me a lot of money over the years. I wonder if that’s local. When I was a Sam’s Club member, it was no credit cards - and it wasn’t twenty years ago - probably ten? I switched to Costco when they came into the area. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/32 "2016-04-18T16:09:01Z")
My local comic book shop takes only cash or check, on the basis that taking plastic would cut into his profits too much. In his case, I totally understand it. All he sells are comic books and comics-related merchandise. He can’t exactly raise his prices to make up the difference, since he sells a product with a price printed right on the cover by the publisher. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/33 "2016-04-18T16:09:55Z")
My haircut place only takes cash. They also only charge $8 for a men’s cut. There’s an interesting contrast between two of the so-called “farmer’s” markets we go to. One doesn’t take credit cards (debit okay) but does take checks. The other is fine with credit cards but won’t take checks. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/34 "2016-04-18T16:35:37Z")
There are very few businesses in my area that only take cash or check, and at this point I think they hold onto the practice because it’s become part of the image. Even members of the burgeoning food truck scene (the most indy of indy businesses) all use mobile-based card readers. Why hedge yourself out of potential sales? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/35 "2016-04-18T16:56:14Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > There’s a burrito joint near me that won’t take credit/debit. The weird thing is that the sign says it’s due to “repeated problems with the credit card machine”. Assuming that’s true, it has to make more sense to get a new card reader than to keep losing sales when people don’t have cash in pocket. It’s been like this for at least a year now and I know I rarely go there for lunch because I rarely have the cash on my and there isn’t a convenient no-fee ATM along the way. The petfood store owner I mentioned in my post had repeated problems with her credit card machine. I had to run down to get cash a couple times when she was still accepting cards because the machine just wouldn’t work. So she called the merchant people and they quoted like $300 for another machine (she probably had to pay for the first, non-working one too) and that cost, plus the per-transaction costs she still had to pay after that, and the cost of either the phone line or the internet connection to get the machine connecting. Her margin was so small it was all just too much of a cost for her. She didn’t have a smartphone at the time, when she got rid of the machine (less than a year ago - she’s just that sort of person). I am guessing people have told her about Square but I’m also guessing she is gauging how business is going in the meantime without having to pay any credit card fees, and how it works for her. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/36 "2016-04-18T17:03:05Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > This is true, but there are fees and costs and hassle for accepting _any_ payments. Cash doesn’t exactly sprout legs and walk itself to the bank. Every small business I’ve ever worked for that took cash handled deposits in the same way: One of the owners took the cash and checks in a locked bag and dropped them in the night depository on the way home. Total cost: bupkis. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/37 "2016-04-18T17:07:26Z")
It used to be I dealt with a large number of merchants who wouldn’t take credit cards, mostly because the fees were too high. Now with PayPal and the Square Reader and such, it is less common for small merchants to refuse credit cards. But I still buy stuff from some businesses that don’t take plastic (although the last local brick&mortar place that didn’t recently closed) and several service people who don’t take plastic. Also, I buy stuff from hobbyist craftsmen, and they mostly don’t take plastic. It’s more about the credit card fees than about hiding income, in most of the cases I do business with. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/38 "2016-04-18T17:16:14Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > > [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > > > This is true, but there are fees and costs and hassle for accepting _any_ payments. Cash doesn’t exactly sprout legs and walk itself to the bank. > > Every small business I’ve ever worked for that took cash handled deposits in the same way: One of the owners took the cash and checks in a locked bag and dropped them in the night depository on the way home. Total cost: bupkis. Well, there’s obviously the risk of being robbed while walking around with the locked bag. There’s the risk of someone walking into the store and robbing it at gunpoint. There’s the risk of a “customer” trying the short change or other scam on the cashier. In short, the cost of handling cash appears to be zero, but is not. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/39 "2016-04-18T17:37:34Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > Sure there are. The biggest online coin and bullion dealers all take credit cards–but you pay a few percent more. On a tangent: Some years ago the US mint was anxious to get dollar coins into circulation, so they had a policy whereby people could buy coins from the mint, at face value, and have them shipped directly to their homes, _with no credit card fee and no shipping charges._ People who had credit cards that provide frequent flyer miles started buying TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollar coins, racking up epic FF mileages; when the coins arrived they simply took them to their local bank and deposited them to their accounts, subsequently using the funds to pay off their credit card bills. It took a little while before the mint realized what was happening and shut the program down. [One guy racked up a staggering 4 million FF miles.](http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/02/28/credit-card-reward-points-airline-miles-free/) ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2016, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533/40 "2016-04-18T18:14:17Z")
To me, the only good reason is because it’s a really old business with an excellent product and they’ve always done it that way. I can understand how a business could have that policy back when cash was more common. But now it’s more of a hassle since cash is used much less. If a business requires a trip to the ATM, that’s a pain and the product better be worth it. There are some places where it’s worth the trip, but someplace like a generic sandwich shop usually isn’t. Quite often now it seems more short-sighted. To me, it signals a business which is being stingy and overly concerned about counting pennies. If just some generic restaurant only takes cash, I’m turned off since I infer that the owner is scrimping in other areas relating to food quality. I wonder if they’re buying the cheapest meat, keeping leftovers around a bit too long, and cutting corners in other places which will affect food safety and quality. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/businesses-that-dont-accept-debit-credit-cards/752533.md?page=3)