That's the sign that is beginning to appear at some gas stations across the country as the price of gas continues to climb. Convenient store owners say they are seeing what little profit they make on gas going to credit card companies which charges an interchange fee on every transaction. As the price of goods and services go up the dollar amount fee goes as well, making it harder for store owners to offer the convenience of using a credit card. Gas stations pay a 10 to 12 percent flat fee on every transaction on top of the percentage rate paid on interchange fees, leaving store owners to pay credit card companies in many cases more than they make.
Some stores are now beginning to offer cash discounts to customers who pay with cash. Customers who are paying in cash can receive from four to ten cents per gallon. Another cheaper alternative is using a debit card which has less fees associated with it's use.
Credit card companies show no signs of changing their ways as Visa says that the fees are offset by the benefits to the stations and customers by being able to pay at the pump. Or in other words, your loss is our gain. MasterCard has made a somewhat feeble attempt by capping the interchange fees on gas purchases of $50 dollars or more. Many store owners are afraid they will lose customers if they do away with credit card purchases, so they continue to struggle as they look for alternatives. That is exactly what credit card companies are banking on. While paying in cash may not be a good alternative for some, neither is watching credit card companies thrive as gas station owners place "out of business" signs on their door.
2 comments:
If gas prices weren't going up we wouldn't be having this problem. But yet we sit here talking about this and yet. We are not doing thing to provent it. Why do you think price of gas is going up. Its not due to Bush. Its due to our lack of knowledge. We should know when we are heading money out to other countries we are also asking them to send us their oil. They over price it and that is what is causing us to have these high gas prices. Look around. We are only hurting ourselves by buying gas from other countries. Can we honestly not come up with a better way of powering our cars and homes? If we think out side the box we will come up with a plan. But if we keep sitting back and not saying anything. Its never going to change its just going to go higher and higher.
Thank you for your post. I agree that it takes action to bring about change. We certainly have to be proactive in finding different ways to fuel our cars and our homes. Gas prices will continue to remain high until we decrease the demand. The increase in demand has come from various places. One of which was president Bush putting oil into the reserve.It however, was only one of several different factors,not the only one. Countries such as China which not until recent years has started buying oil thus also increasing the demand. Natural disasters have been a contributing factor and this is only a few examples. So we are left with two choices, increase supply or decrease the demand. One way to increase supply is off shore drilling but, that is not a permanent solution. So we have to find ways to decrease the demand and like you said in your post finding other ways to power our cars and homes. Neither solution is something that will happen overnight.In the meantime we have to take it upon ourselves to help each other by cutting back on the amount of fuel we use. Less trips to town; one person said they only make one trip a week to buy food and supplies as apposed to running to town every time they need something. One farmer in I believe it was Tennessee has gone back to using mules to plow his fields instead of his tractor. Others have stated that they will find vacation spots close to home. Each of these people have found ways to decrease the demand, save money and still get what they need or want accomplished. They not only have helped themselves, they have helped all of us as well. I think paying in cash for gasoline at places that offer a discount is another great idea. It helps me and it helps the business also. This takes companies that have no intentions of working with consumers to help them get through this rough period and still make a profit out of the loop. It's companies like these that are so greedy they really don't care that they are part of the problem and not the solution.Change can come but it has to be a joint effort.
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