Paying with a credit card could cost you extra at the store

Stores might start charging fees every time customers
pay with credit cards, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Visa and Mastercard don’t allow merchants to have such
surcharges as part of the rules retailers have to follow
in order to accept their credit cards, according to the
article. The ban is expected to be altered or done away
with due to a potential settlement of longstanding
lawsuits merchants have filed against credit card networks
and banks that issue their cards.

For years, retailers have tried to obtain the right to
charge extra to customers who pay with credit cards,
according to the article. Retailers say such a right would
help cover costs for credit and debit cards. Merchants
currently pay transaction fees every time a credit or
debit card is swiped.

“Merchants prefer complete flexibility, and in their eyes
relaxing some of these rules like surcharging (is)
something that will be permanent,” Glenn Fodor, a Morgan
Stanley analyst, told the Wall Street Journal.

Companies such as Kroger Co., Payless ShoeSource and
Safeway Inc. have filed lawsuits against the credit card
companies saying the card companies engage in
anticompetitive behavior with the fees, according to the
article.

EMAIL: bbullock@desnews.com