With the recent increase of merchants that accept credit and debit cards has come with it some acceptance issues that should be addressed and communicated to all cardholders and merchants.  A merchant that accepts Visa or MasterCard is not permitted, under its merchant agreement with these associations, to establish a minimum or maximum transaction amount or charge a usage fee just because someone decides to pay with their card vs. cash or check.

 

Many merchants that are new to card acceptance process mainly low dollar transactions.  Some examples may be your local doughnut shop or fast food restaurant.  Some of these merchants may put signs by their cash register indicating a credit card minimum or maximum purchase amount.  They might also indicate a flat or percentage fee for card transactions.  These signs violate their Visa/ MasterCard agreements as they may harm the perception of the card brand and influence consumers to pay with cash instead of their card simply to avoid the hassle.  The card associations want their cards to be the most convenient, efficient payment method.  These practices go against this philosophy.  If you come across a merchant that has a minimum or maximum purchase amount or assesses a fee for card usage, please report them to your card issuer.  If you are a card issuer, this information should be reported to the card association.  They keep records of this type of violation and contact the merchant’s processor to get the violation corrected.  The fee charged to your card may also be disputed and recovered from the merchant since it is against the rules.