# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2010, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/41 "2010-06-19T22:13:26Z")
On the flip side, since I know they have to pay a small fee on credit transactions if I’m at a small local store or restaurant I always try to have cash on hand to pay. I’m also the guy who will use plastic to buy a cup of coffee from McDonald’s rather than break a $20. Go figure. ---
**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 20, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/42 "2010-06-20T19:51:46Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Well, if you buy that can at .25 and sell at $1, no, it doesn’t. And, yes there are other overhead costs but almost none are on a per unit basis. I was looking into selling some soft drinks at my bookstore. Wholesale cost on bottles (I didn’t look at cans) was $0.75, and most folks in town sell them for $1.00 to $1.25. There’s not a whole bunch of margin in there. The places with the fountain drinks, of course, do much better than that. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2010, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/43 "2010-06-20T20:23:48Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > This thread has been an eye-opener for me. First, I always carry cash, usually between $50 and $100. It’s inconvenient to have to carry cash, because once it’s spent, you have to go somewhere specific to get more, or else pay exorbitant ATM fees. I usually don’t have that kind of time in my day. > [@](#): > > But the main thing that astonishes me is that people resent being asked to pay case for a dollar purchase. I still remember buying a quarter paperback in 1964 when cards were still new, if that was cash or credit. I could not believe that some people would use a card for a quarter purchase. I “resent” it only to the extent that _I usually don’t have cash_. If I had it, I’d gladly hand it over. If a merchant is going to force me to go out of my way to obtain cash, that’s like adding another chore to my day. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/44 "2010-06-21T04:24:01Z")
One place I worked 25 years ago, the machine that processes the credit card transactions would not accept a transaction for less than 99 cents. (again, 25 years ago, the place I work for now can do as little as 1 cent.) If there was a late charge for a local call. (back then there was no interface for the phone system and the hotel, so all calls had to be added manually.) the charge was written off. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/45 "2010-06-21T04:31:19Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:42, topic:543588”] I was looking into selling some soft drinks at my bookstore. Wholesale cost on bottles (I didn’t look at cans) was $0.75, and most folks in town sell them for $1.00 to $1.25. There’s not a whole bunch of margin in there. . [/QUOTE] I have see Pepsi on sale for $3 a 12 pack of cans, and Shasta for 99cents a six pack. But yes, that’s per can. Bottles are more expensive. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/46 "2010-06-21T10:52:16Z")
A couple of posters have opined that there’s something wrong with paying for small purchases with a credit card. But they haven’t explained why this is. Why is this? What’s better about carrying cash? ---
**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 21, 2010, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/47 "2010-06-21T15:12:28Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > A couple of posters have opined that there’s something wrong with paying for small purchases with a credit card. But they haven’t explained why this is. > > Why is this? > > What’s better about carrying cash? The **objective** reason that has already been brought up is that, since the retailer is charged a fee for processing a credit card, they could actually end up losing money on a small purchase paid for by credit card. I can think of several **subjective** reasons why people might have qualms about paying for small purchases with a credit card: 1. To some people, cash feels like “real money,” whereas paying with a credit card (or debit card) is too easy: no money visibly changes hands, so it doesn’t feel like spending, and it becomes too easy to waste money on piddly, inessential things. 2. The word “credit” in “credit card” makes some think (with some justification) of using a credit card as getting a little loan, going into debt. And if you have to get a loan to buy a bottle of soda or a pack of gum, that’s pathetic, and you shouldn’t be buying them. 3. Some people developed their financial habits and attitudes back in the day when credit cards were less common and less widely accepted, and using them was more of a big deal, so it just feels weird to use them for small, everyday purchases. 4. They’ve had bad experiences with people who “don’t carry cash”—for example, the mooch who doesn’t pay his fair share because he doesn’t have any cash on him—and are thus inclined to take a dim view of such people. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/48 "2010-06-21T15:17:01Z")
The only reason I’d be buying a single soda from a gas station or other convenience store would be because I didn’t have the time to make a better or cheaper choice in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/49 "2010-06-21T19:11:38Z")
> [@IAmNotSpartacus](#): > > It’s worth pointing out that rewards cards typically process at a higher rate than standard cards with no rewards. The same holds true for government purchasing cards. Banks do not pay for these rewards for their customers-- the merchants you use the credit cards with do. Do you have a cite for this? I mean, I’ve got a Visa card with rewards, and another one which does not (but is also branded Visa). Does the _merchant_ really pay a different fee for the same 50 dollar transaction depending on which one I stumble onto in my wallet? ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2010, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/50 "2010-06-22T02:51:34Z")
My monthly merchant account statement. . . In lieu of that, [Merchant account - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merchant_account#First_Tier_-_Qualified_Rate) > [@](#): > > The use of “rewards cards” can be as high as 40% of transactions. So it is important that the financial impact of this fee be understood. So therefore, merchants will be charged the qualified plus the mid qualified rate. Example) If your qualified rate is 1.5% and the mid qualified rate is 1 %, your effective rate would be 2.5 % ---
**Author:** ![Sri\_Theo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Sri\_Theo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sri_Theo)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2010, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588/51 "2010-06-24T13:01:34Z")
So I wonder why it’s against the merchant agreement in the US? Virtually everywhere in the UK does this, apart from the really big places like Tesco’s and Sainsbury’s. It’s normally £5 but sometimes £3. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/credit-debit-minimum-purchase-legal/543588.md?page=2)