# credit/debit minimum purchase, legal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588 "2010-06-17T19:34:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Faelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c77e96/32.png) [@Faelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faelyn)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/1 "2010-06-17T19:34:50Z")
I think this has probably been covered before, but Search hasn’t worked for me all day so I’ll just ask 🙂 While at a gas station a couple weeks ago I was trying to buy a soda with a debit card and the cashier told me I had to make a minimum purchase of $2.50 to use my card. Is this legal? Why would they refuse a sale, granted a small one? Wouldn’t they have a contract with Visa to accept any amount in sales? Can I report it to Visa? Much appreciated 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/2 "2010-06-17T19:44:22Z")
It’s not “against the law”, but it is “against the merchant agreement”. The credit card merchant agreements specifically prohibit minimum purchase requirements: [http://consumerist.com/2006/04/mega-update-requiring-minimum-credit-card-purchases-is-a-violation.html](http://consumerist.com/2006/04/mega-update-requiring-minimum-credit-card-purchases-is-a-violation.html) However, a pending bill may soon change that, allowing merchants to allow minimums: [http://consumerist.com/2010/05/10-minimum-for-credit-card-purchase-signs-may-soon-be-totally-legit.html](http://consumerist.com/2010/05/10-minimum-for-credit-card-purchase-signs-may-soon-be-totally-legit.html) ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/3 "2010-06-17T19:46:30Z")
> [@Meagan](#): > > Why would they refuse a sale, granted a small one? Because they have to pay a fee for the credit card transaction. > [@Meagan](#): > > Wouldn’t they have a contract with Visa to accept any amount in sales? Yes (see my post above). > [@Meagan](#): > > Can I report it to Visa? Yes, and here’s how: [http://consumerist.com/2007/12/how-to-report-merchants-for-requiring-a-minimum-purchase-or-making-you-show-id.html](http://consumerist.com/2007/12/how-to-report-merchants-for-requiring-a-minimum-purchase-or-making-you-show-id.html) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/4 "2010-06-17T19:46:55Z")
You can and should report it to Visa. From [this](http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/money/consumer/troubleshooter/credit-and-debit-card-minimum-purchase-requirements-not-approved-by-mastercard-and-visa-) story: > [@](#): > > Visa said asking for a minimum purchase, is a direct violation of the contract a merchant has with their company, and repeat violations may result in a store having its privileges revoked. > > Visa and Mastercard said consumers can report violations of this policy to the customer service department of bank that issued their card. ---
**Author:** ![Faelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c77e96/32.png) [@Faelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faelyn)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/5 "2010-06-17T19:47:44Z")
Ah, that’s exactly what I meant! And I should also add that they weren’t refusing my sale completely, just forcing me to add more before they would accept it. Don’t suppose there’s anything to I can do? ---
**Author:** ![Faelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c77e96/32.png) [@Faelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faelyn)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/6 "2010-06-17T19:49:37Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > You can and should report it to Visa. > > From [this](http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/money/consumer/troubleshooter/credit-and-debit-card-minimum-purchase-requirements-not-approved-by-mastercard-and-visa-) story: Thanks, I most certainly will, I just had no clue how. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/7 "2010-06-17T20:11:28Z")
Be advised that Visa and MC will do absolutely nothing to enforce this. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/8 "2010-06-17T20:14:55Z")
CAUTION: Although lots of people throw around “it’s against the merchant agreement,” please realize that there are many different merchant agreements. My businesses take Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. The agreement that I signed requires customer signatures on _all_ credit card transactions, yet the grocery store on the corner doesn’t require signatures on small transactions. My agreement says that cash customers and credit card customers must be charged the same price, yet the gas station down the street does a cash discount. To answer one of your peripheral questions (the “why?” part), credit card companies charge merchants both a per-transaction fee and a percentage (not to mention various monthly charges, but we won’t get into those). Let’s take a typical agreement that calls for $0.20 per transaction plus 3% of the total. If you buy a $100 item, the store pays $3.20 - a paltry 3.2% of the total. If you buy a 75 cent soda, the store pays $0.22 - over 29% of the total. That 29% quite possibly exceeds the profit margin on the soda, so the store is losing money by accepting the credit card. I’m not saying whether it’s wrong or right, but that’s the reason for the minimums. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/9 "2010-06-17T20:16:06Z")
> [@Meagan](#): > > Thanks, I most certainly will, I just had no clue how. I find is fascinating that so many people are pumped up to report this when gas stations do this almost across the board having a cash and credit price for fuel, at least everywhere in CA I have ever puchased fuel. ---
**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:** [June 17, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/10 "2010-06-17T20:17:52Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Be advised that Visa and MC will do absolutely nothing to enforce this. This. It’s against the agreement between the merchant and the CC/debit card company (as is the practice of having different prices for cash and CC purchases), but if Visa/MC enforces it by ending their service to this merchant, then they lose ALL future revenue from this merchant. Not a good deal for them; they will not terminate a lucrative relationship over penny-ante violations. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2010, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/11 "2010-06-17T20:36:58Z")
This has come up a lot before. I dealt with this firsthand a lot. The answer is this: NO they cannot do this But no one will do anything to enforce it. So the REAL answer is YES they can. The idea is merchants always build in the cost of credit card fees into their prices already. When a person prices a widget for a $1.00 he bases that price on cost For example: Widget sells for: $1.00 Profit: 50¢ Rent: 10¢ Shrinkage: 5¢ Utilities: 10¢ Taxes: 10¢ Salaries 6¢ Benifts for employees 4¢ Fees for credit cards 3¢ Goodwill 1¢ Misc 1¢ So if a retailler was allowed to charge the cost of the associated fee on an item he’d be DOUBLE DIPPING. Why? Because the cost of those credit card fees are already IN the item as it’s priced. The way around this is simple: DISCOUNTS. Visa / MC and other don’t let you charge extra for credit cards but they let you offer discounts for cash. For example: You can’t say it’s $10 if paid by credit card and $10.30 if paid by credit card. But you CAN say, it’s $10.30 if paid by credit card and $10.00 if paid by cash. See the difference. Note: Governmental agencies for the most part exempt themselves from this rule, because in some states and localities it IS illegal to charge more. (See local laws in your city to find out). This is why the IRS charges for credit cards. They can. Merchant agreements exempt such agencies. The bottom line is there’s nothing you can do about it. And as person who has spent years working in accounting it’s SO STUPID. Why would you say “We don’t want your business.” It’s so easy to transmit credit cards. I worked in hotels when we did this manually and I would say it took us a grand total of 1 hour per day to do all the credit card work. And that included looking up each charge card in a book to see if it was bad. The people who want to do this are greedy. They’re trying to force you to buy more. It’s definately not a “I’m losing money” type of thing, unless a person is 100% clueless about how to price their stock OR they are legitimiately operating a business which is not ever gonna make a profit and they’re grasping at straws. ---
**Author:** ![Faelyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c77e96/32.png) [@Faelyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Faelyn)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/12 "2010-06-18T14:44:34Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:8, topic:543588”] CAUTION: Although lots of people throw around “it’s against the merchant agreement,” please realize that there are many different merchant agreements. My businesses take Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. The agreement that I signed requires customer signatures on _all_ credit card transactions, yet the grocery store on the corner doesn’t require signatures on small transactions. My agreement says that cash customers and credit card customers must be charged the same price, yet the gas station down the street does a cash discount. To answer one of your peripheral questions (the “why?” part), credit card companies charge merchants both a per-transaction fee and a percentage (not to mention various monthly charges, but we won’t get into those). Let’s take a typical agreement that calls for $0.20 per transaction plus 3% of the total. If you buy a $100 item, the store pays $3.20 - a paltry 3.2% of the total. If you buy a 75 cent soda, the store pays $0.22 - over 29% of the total. That 29% quite possibly exceeds the profit margin on the soda, so the store is losing money by accepting the credit card. I’m not saying whether it’s wrong or right, but that’s the reason for the minimums. [/QUOTE] Huh, I admit that does make a lot of sense. I’m sure I’d feel differently about the whole thing if I were the owner of the station. Thanks 🙂 > [@Markxxx](#): > > This has come up a lot before. I dealt with this firsthand a lot. > > The answer is this: > > NO they cannot do this > > But no one will do anything to enforce it. > > So the REAL answer is YES they can. > > The idea is merchants always build in the cost of credit card fees into their prices already. > > When a person prices a widget for a $1.00 he bases that price on cost > > For example: > > Widget sells for: $1.00 > > Profit: 50¢ > Rent: 10¢ > Shrinkage: 5¢ > Utilities: 10¢ > Taxes: 10¢ > Salaries 6¢ > Benifts for employees 4¢ > Fees for credit cards 3¢ > Goodwill 1¢ > Misc 1¢ > > So if a retailler was allowed to charge the cost of the associated fee on an item he’d be DOUBLE DIPPING. Why? Because the cost of those credit card fees are already IN the item as it’s priced. > > The way around this is simple: DISCOUNTS. > > Visa / MC and other don’t let you charge extra for credit cards but they let you offer discounts for cash. > > For example: You can’t say it’s $10 if paid by credit card and $10.30 if paid by credit card. But you CAN say, it’s $10.30 if paid by credit card and $10.00 if paid by cash. > > See the difference. > > Note: Governmental agencies for the most part exempt themselves from this rule, because in some states and localities it IS illegal to charge more. (See local laws in your city to find out). > > This is why the IRS charges for credit cards. They can. Merchant agreements exempt such agencies. > > The bottom line is there’s nothing you can do about it. > > And as person who has spent years working in accounting it’s SO STUPID. > > Why would you say “We don’t want your business.” It’s so easy to transmit credit cards. I worked in hotels when we did this manually and I would say it took us a grand total of 1 hour per day to do all the credit card work. And that included looking up each charge card in a book to see if it was bad. > > The people who want to do this are greedy. **They’re trying to force you to buy more.** It’s definately not a “I’m losing money” type of thing, unless a person is 100% clueless about how to price their stock OR they are legitimiately operating a business which is not ever gonna make a profit and they’re grasping at straws. (Bolding mine) This is exactly how I saw it. All I wanted was a soda, if I bought anything else it would be wasted. ---
**Author:** ![TerpBE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc8723/32.png) [@TerpBE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TerpBE)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/13 "2010-06-18T15:00:27Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Be advised that Visa and MC will do absolutely nothing to enforce this. From this link: [http://consumerist.com/2007/12/how-to-report-merchants-for-requiring-a-minimum-purchase-or-making-you-show-id.html](http://consumerist.com/2007/12/how-to-report-merchants-for-requiring-a-minimum-purchase-or-making-you-show-id.html) > [@](#): > > People who have done so on the Credit Boards message board say that when they report a merchant, they get a letter from the credit card company and when they go back to the store, the shenanigans have stopped. So it sounds like the credit card companies may at least warn the merchant, and often get them to comply. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/14 "2010-06-18T15:50:07Z")
A slightly different wording of the question: Do credit card agreements allow a merchant to refuse a sale? I believe that laws say that a merchant can refuse to do business with you. (Maybe they don’t like blue shirts that day.) So why couldn’t a merchant decline to do business because of the size of the credit card purchase. I guess what I’m asking is: Even if the merchant agreement states that a merchant can not require a minimum purchase to use a credit card, doesn’t the merchant still have the right to refuse to do business with a potential customer? I don’t believe that size of sale is a protected class. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/15 "2010-06-18T16:29:22Z")
> [@drachillix](#): > > I find is fascinating that so many people are pumped up to report this when gas stations do this almost across the board having a cash and credit price for fuel, at least everywhere in CA I have ever puchased fuel. There’s nothing wrong with this, so far as I know. You can’t charge a surcharge for using a credit card, but you can offer a discount for using cash. Let me dig up a cite. _checks the internet_ [Here ya go](http://www.creditinfocenter.com/cards/crcd_buy.shtml#Question6). > [@](#): > > There is a loophole: merchants are allowed to give cash discounts. This means in practice that they can’t charge you more than the labeled price if you pay by credit card, but they can charge you less if you pay cash. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/16 "2010-06-18T16:57:17Z")
Sorry, but I can’t imagine buying one coke with a credit card. Or writing a $1.25 check. There’s a reason people carry money in their pocket. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/17 "2010-06-18T17:01:12Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Sorry, but I can’t imagine buying one coke with a credit card. Or writing a $1.25 check. > > There’s a reason people carry money in their pocket. I do it all the time – well, with my debit card, that is. I rarely have any cash on me. I don’t think I’m terribly unusual in this regard. Certainly not the majority, but not as rare as you might think. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/18 "2010-06-18T17:11:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Sorry, but I can’t imagine buying one coke with a credit card. Or writing a $1.25 check. > > There’s a reason people carry money in their pocket. I use credit cards for everything. You don’t get reward points / cash back for spending cash. Checks are stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/19 "2010-06-18T17:12:28Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > When a person prices a widget for a $1.00 he bases that price on cost > > For example: > > Widget sells for: $1.00 > > Profit: 50¢ > Rent: 10¢ > Shrinkage: 5¢ > Utilities: 10¢ > Taxes: 10¢ > Salaries 6¢ > Benifts for employees 4¢ > Fees for credit cards 3¢ > Goodwill 1¢ > Misc 1¢ Am I missing something? How is the retailer getting the widget in the first place? Where is its wholesale cost? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/20 "2010-06-18T17:16:52Z")
When a merchant chooses to be dickish, there are often workarounds. I once asked a cashier for change for a dollar, proffering the single as I asked. He told me he wouldn’t give change without a purchase. I returned the dollar to my pocket, and searched the store for the chepest item. I returned to the cashier with my nickel item. He rang me up. I paid. With a $50.😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588.md?page=2)