Thread: Increase in Transaction Service Charge for Merchants?

So I was getting my hair cut today and when I went to pay, I pulled out my Platinum American Express that I always use and was told that they would no longer take the card due to American Express pushing a LARGE increase in service charges to take the card. I have no problem using my Chase Hyatt Visa to pay but I like to use one card as much as possible.

Has anyone else heard this excuse for the quick change in acceptance of their card?

Originally Posted by CC Deville

It could be that their current merchant agreement expired and Amex wanted them to renew at a much higher rate so they instead decided to cease offering Amex as an option to pay.

That could be it. I find it ironic though that I use my Visa Signature which is usually costing them the same as American Express. I've done some work with merchant agreements when helping my mom out with a business and it amazes me how certain types of Visa and MasterCards charge more.

Originally Posted by Vermonster

The thing is most people carry either a Visa or MC even if they have an Amex. I mean Chase is the only bank that I know of that still offers an ATM only card. Even though a Visa Sig can cost the same as an Amex, you can't expect them to stop taking all Visas. It should average out in their favor anyway. So for a small shop to stop taking Amex, isn't a big deal.

Agreed. I actually just got rid of my Visa Check Card and got a plain ATM card. After having my Check Card stolen and used, the ATM only card makes more sense since that's all I used it for.

You know, I keep wondering how come payment service like Square hasn't reach widespread level among small business yet? It offers flat interchange fee across all cards. You don't have to pay other fees like monthly fee, statement fee, rental fee, etc.

I think you are over thinking. Mobile payment is growing, and will continue to grow as Google Wallet, Isis, and etc gain momentum. There is nothing status about it.

Come to think of it PayPal has 5% + 5 cents plan for sub $10 sales. It might even work out for selling tickets.

My local Starbucks and movie theater even begin to use iPad to process transaction.

Originally Posted by Vermonster

I don't really see Square as having a place in most small businesses. For our ski place 98% of the sales are tickets and rentals. But the rest are equipment sales and I think it looks bad to sell a $1,000+ set of equipment and pull out your iPhone to process the card. I think I would walk out if someone did that to me. I just think iPads and iPhones look fairly unprofessional.

Agreed. The first time I paid someone who was using one it was at a small coffee shop. It made me hesitant because I didn't want to put my credit card # into someone's phone. I'm sure it's legit or whatever but it just seems cheapy. I have several friends that are local business owners and they haven't mentioned anything about amex raising their fees, so I don't know if that's true.