Do you honestly think that, after 25 years of gasoline companies doing this, that Visa and MasterCard aren’t totally aware of what is done, how it is done, and what they can do about it? Don’t you think that, if it was something Visa and MasterCard considered a violation of their agreements, they wouldn’t have long ago notified gasoline companies and their stations that they cannot do this? Or that, if they are going to do it, here is how they must do it to avoid violating the terms of the agreement?
In the end run, it’s all meaningless. All I have to do as a merchant to avoid violating the rules is bump my prices up 4 cents and then give you a 4 cent per item discount at the register for all cash transactions (or whatever discount I want to give). In short, live with it.
Not to mention its pretty much biting the hand that feeds you. It does not cost the bank any more when you upcharge the customer for CC use , in fact they make a tiny bit more from the fees on that extra couple dollars. Merchant services are literally a dime a dozen, one wants to get all hard ass on you, the next one won’t and its childs play for a small business to switch.
Well, to be fair, if you are a single-store merchant, or even a small chain, you are going to do what VisaCard tell you to do because you cannot do without being able to offer credit card sales. So, if Joe’s Mom and Pop store on the corner of Main and 1st tries to charge extra for credit card sales, or sets a minimum transaction amount, and you call VisaCard and complain, they will let the merchant know to change the situation or lose the ability to offer credit sales. I’ve seen the results of that (I hate merchants that set $10 minimums for credit sales).
On the other hand, VisaCard is not particularly interested in losing the ability to collect fees from every Exxon/Mobil station in the country, so if that company decided to charge extra on credit sales, without totally flouting the terms of the agreement, it’s much less likely your complaint about the subject will produce much action. This isn’t hypothetical, either; ARCO stations do not accept credit card sales, having dropped them in 1982 (at the same time that prices spiked and cash discounts first started getting offered). That’s a huge chunk of business, given how ARCO is positioned in the California market. Note that ARCO is a subsidiary of BP; imagine if BP itself decided to discontinue credit sales! :eek:
The lower price for cash payment (then followed historically by the “same price for cash or credit” offer) has been around for decades. As to the 76s, perhaps it’s a Portland thing. Elsewhere on I-5 in Oregon the cash or credit price has been the same at every major gas station I’ve been to. I almost always gas at a 76 and there’s only one price. There are always a few low-end stations (Astro? and the like) that offer a better cash price, or that only take cash.