In response to a frustrated post from JamesNord this morning, I again looked up the rules about minimums for using credit cards. Many vendors say that they have a $5 or $10 minimum, but it is actually against their Merchant Agreements with the credit card companies to do so.
This is a handy wallet sized excerpt of the agreement for Visa/MasterCard…I’ll have to see what the agreement from American Express looks like.
(via consumerist)
The merchants are not the problem. It costs some of these mom and pop shops upwards of $2 per transaction. Starbucks can take your $2 visa bill because they get totally different rates. Stores using those little terminals get manhandled, it’s not the same as on the web. Besides, who would rather support a credit card company than a small merchant? Just use cash, dudes.
Seriously. This is so misdirected. Do you want the business to still be there or not? Then help them out by understanding that they’re not asking for a minimum JUST CAUSE THEY THINK IT’S FUNNY. Being “right” here isn’t going to get you what you actually want.
These companies signed an agreement with the credit card vendor. So they have to honor that. A good medium if for the companies to not sell their wares for less than the purchase amount that would still make them money. It’s, unfortunately, still a plastic world. If they want to stay in business they may have to get more creative. Sell packets of small things to equal $10.00. They company then meets its “minimum” and stays in business cause they are making more higher sales. After all isn’t that the goal, to sell more and make profit?
