Here in La they still tell people using debit cards they must purchase a 5 dollar minimum which is contrary to the very law that was written to forbid that. Debit is like electronic cash and is instantly credited to a merchants account, it is better than cash due to it being available so fast. Credit cards were excluded from that law simply because merchants need cash to operate and it takes 30 days to get that money from a Credit card. This is the reason the two cards have separate guidelines in law. Like I said the merchants think both cards are the same. I reported my local drugstore to my bank and visa for attempting to force me to buy something more than the one med paid for by my medicare. They did absolutely nothing from the banks end except forward it to Visa and that was swept under the rug. I stopped using the only drugstore here in town and drove 8 miles every month to a better drugstore for several years due to their greed and attitude. I was told "well, I'll do you a favor this time and accept the debit purchase" ! I should have reported it to medicare and then something would have been done. I told the person no you aren't doing me a favor, you are not following the law. They lost a lot of money trying to stiff me for 2 dollars, my yearly purchase using my insurance and co pay was over 500 dollars out of my pocket. Today I don't even want to know what it cost and eventually I will go back to using the VA, no cost to me and it will be mailed directly to my PO Box after I order online from my account. I have to say the VA has not changed one iota since I last used them in Baton Rouge, they continue to be a rogue operation and all these new regulations politicians love to tout for a resume is pure BS. It took 60 days to even get a feedback for a new primary care. I still have online communication and they are still so stupid they won't use it to communicate with a veteran. More waste of tax dollars to pay for such a service and it just sits there unused year in year out. One day the VA will be phased out and veterans will be taken care of in the community healthcare system. The way they have cut and killed veterans healthcare for the last two wars is criminal and of course that is the politicians who do this. They still find money to give free healthcare and anything else to every foreigner in the world, especially this slug in our white house at the moment. He is seeding a takeover of our election system by socialist illegals living off our dime.
Thomas, First let me say thank you for your service. Medical and medicine should always be available to all servicemen and should be free. The direction this country is going in is scary, I worry about the future for my grandchildren. Back in the day I never had a party affiliation, I felt both parties had America for its main interest, they were just differed on how to handle America's problems. So I voted for the party I felt would do best for the country and its people. Never thought or worried about our freedom and/or our rights. I'm not much of a political follower, but today as I see it this is political war. The money that is behind the enemies of this country are using the American system to destroy it. They use the courts to intimidate good Americans, they want to defund the military services and police, they control the narrative by controlling TV news, newspapers, and high-profile people.
Credit and Debit Card processors charge two fees: they charge a flat transaction fee and they charge a percentage of the purchase. So imagine you buy a $1 bottle of water or a candy bar. The merchant might make a dime profit on it. They would literally lose cash on that transaction if it were done via plastic. Federal Law allows merchants to set a Minimum Charge Amount on debit and credit cards, not to exceed $10. Then there are other costs, like the amount the credit card processors (banks) hold back to cover disputes and charge backs...in other words, the merchants fund the dispute/refund process, not the credit card companies. That pool of money comes directly from the merchant's pocket in each transaction. This amount varies by industry, driven by its historical charge back rate (McDonalds sees fewer charge backs than an EBay seller.) So when the merchant gets paid via plastic, they receive the proceeds minus the transaction fee minus the transaction percentage minus the charge-back retention. When customers scam the system, it's the merchant that pays for it (just like any form of shoplifting), not the credit card companies. Sure it flows through to the prices we all pay, but the merchant is in the middle funding it in the short-term...and he's gotta compete. As an aside, proceeds from credit cards (minus the costs, fees and hold-backs) take at most a few days to hit merchant accounts...it usually happens the next day.
That's the way it was from the beginning before the surcharge. My problem is why have an extra charge unless you plan on taking it away someday when it could be absorbed as the cost of doing business, by increasing the price of goods accordingly.