But they don’t really eat the cost, do they? They pass it on to you one way or another, if they’re smart. This is particularly why it puzzles me and irks me that businesses do it this way. Consumers don’t like paying additional fees because of debit and credit cards, as evidenced by this thread. So, as a business, just figure out what costs debit and credit card fees are incurring your business, and spread them out amongst your sales.
But my price is lower, because cash, check and credit card customers subsidize my debit card use. Win!
There are quite a few people out there who are like me and just don’t carry cash at all. I rarely have cash on me and use my debit/credit card all the time. If I see a notice at a store that there’s a fee for one or the other, I’ll just use the other option, same card.
I live in a large city, use public transportation and walk a lot. Carrying cash is dumb around here, so I avoid doing so. Someone wants to mug me for my plastic, go ahead, I won’t be out any money if they do. It would hurt me a lot more if they were able to grab $100 cash from me, I can’t get that back.
I also am not much of a consumer of transactions under $10, don’t buy fast food and don’t buy coffee-shop coffee except as a treat so it’s usually more than a couple bucks when I splurge.
Now I’m having a craving for a two piece meal and a biscuit. Thanks.
Oh I am so sorry.
I hadn’t realized my posts had to meet your approval.
I’ll make sure I check with you before I hit the submit button next time.
I wouldn’t want to offend you.
If I carried enough cash that would be a valid concern. But we’re talking about small purchases here. My potential liability for fraudulent charges (especially with a debit card) is higher than the 10-20 dollars I’m likely to be carrying.
Now this isn’t a criticism of people who choose to use plastic for everything. How someone else chooses to pay is none of my business. But how I choose to pay isn’t anyone else’s business either.
Oh, it’s cool.
But if you want to run posts by me, that’s OK too. I get that a lot.
Also, switch banks.
I don’t check every transaction. I’ll check my statement about two times a month, and verify some recent transactions. I DO check every receipt as I get them, to make sure the price I paid is what I expected. I’ve spotted cashier mistakes a few times at the register after my receipt was printed, but very infrequently, and it was always corrected on the spot. I haven’t used cash in three years. In all that time, I’ve never found a discrepancy on my credit card statement.
Some card readers I’ve dealt with don’t give the customer that option. Run a debit card (even one with a CC logo), it automatically goes to “debit card” processing.
Personally, I use debit for quite a bit, both because I live in an area where I’m not comfortable carrying much cash* and because I’m simply too absent-minded to remember to get cash. 
- I’m female, middle-aged, shortish, very near-sighted with thick glasses, and have arthritic hips that can affect my mobility. Whether it’s rational or not, I do feel a bit vulnerable.
Sorry, but if using credit or debit cards for everyday purchases is a hassle for you, you’re doing it wrong.
Most people I know don’t wait for a paper statement to be mailed to them once a month to manage their finances. Debit and credit card purchases can be monitored daily. Hell, hourly. There are even phone apps for this.
I even get emails from my bank when a purchase I’ve made twigs their algorithm as “suspicious activity.”
As someone who was once robbed at gunpoint, I can’t think of anything stupider than walking around with a bunch of cash on me.
I’m suspicious of this. I have never seen a machine process a debit transaction without needing a PIN. If I never put it in, it can’t process the transaction. PayWave or whatever it’s called when you wave your card in front of the reader, works because it automatically runs as credit and many stores don’t require a signature on credit purchases under 25 dollars.
Feel free to be suspicious of my personal experience all you want, it still happens. Some readers go straight to “debit card”, do require PIN, and so far as I have ever been informed, do not offer the “credit card” option.
A-fuckin-men. I can monitor my account and transactions any time I want to and do. I also call bullshit on those who say that cash is faster and that the card swipe machines flick up 20% of the time. The only times the line slows up in my experience is cash and check users.
But the idea that some people still wait until the end of the month to balance their statements and do it with paper just blows my mind.
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This really makes me want to walk into a Popeye’s and pay for something by check. I haven’t ever written a check to pay for anything other than rent and maybe a utility or two in my life, and I think this would be rather hilarious. Double plus funny if I only buy a small side or something that comes to less than $5.
Makes me happy that Popeye’s was one of the first places to go out of business around here when the recession started. Well, that and the fact that they put gluten in their “grilled” chicken. (Too bad KFC didn’t have the same fate. They have a gluten free menu with their condiments and drinks on it. Nothing else is gluten free.)
The only exciting thing about paying by check is writing “For sexual favors” on the memo line.
I can confirm this too, my same coworker who works at KFC said that if the card says debit on it anywhere, they have to process it as a debit and charge the fee. The machine will not let them do it any other way – that is another thing that is really pissing customers off.
(I just realized the way I have been posting almost makes it sound like I’m the one who works at KFC and am trying to hide it. Unfortunately not so, they get free food while on shift! I’m thinking about taking up a few hours a week there just so I never have to pay for food! I would be bragging about it!)
Most places (at least every place I’ve asked) that goes straight to debit allows you to cancel and get to a screen that lets you choose between debit and credit.
Their POS’s encourage debit because it’s usually a better deal for the store than credit.
People who prefer cash - why are you telling us? Who cares? Does that justify Popeye’s pretending they’re not penalizing debit card users when they are?
The pretend comes about because of the way the laws and agreements are currently written. It’s either that or subsidize debit card purchasers at the expense of others. That may be a better business model, and it may lead people to shop elsewhere. I prefer it this way since I have the option of using credit or cash. I do this at gas stations that charge more for credit - I am willing to go elsewhere or use cash to save a few bucks.
I just don’t get the outrage - it’s a pretty simple business decision.
A case could be made that cash is the most expensive payment method for a store to accept. Leaving aside completely time spent by the customer at the POS, then you’ve got cashier error and cashier theft to factor in, somebody’s got to count up the cash and make out a bank deposit for it, it needs to be taken to the bank (or have a armored car service pick it up), you’ve got to order change, etc., etc., etc.