Debit card minimum fee

deweyzeph said:
I've never seen a merchant who accepts Visa but not Mastercard, or vice versa. They always accept them together.
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didn't you go to any world cup games last year? i have a mastercard and i couldn't pay for ANYTHING at the matches... visa only!
 
deweyzeph said:
I've never seen a merchant who accepts Visa but not Mastercard, or vice versa. They always accept them together.
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It's usually American Express or Diner's Club which isn't accepted, and often because a) the merchant doesn't have the facility but more often b) Amex and Diner's club charge merchant's a much higher transaction fee.

I understand a reluctance to process R10 transactions due to fixed costs, I can even understand cash discounts (and why not pass a benefit to a customer), what I can't handle is when a place has R100 to R200 minimum policies (some bars/clubs for example). That isn't avoiding fixed costs, that is avoiding tax.
 
WHY is it not acceptable to not accept Amex/Diners Club?

It is exactly the same thing - the costs are inhibitive. If you're a small business making a nice 10% margin, why should you pay ~6% away to Amex? I'm sure >99% of Amex cardholders have a secondary Mastercard or Visa, so it doesn't hurt business that much to not accept Amex... but wow guys, you're being hard on small businesses that do not want to pay R5 in fees/commission on a R20 purchase. Not having the ability to accept Visa/Mastercard in this day and age is almost suicide.

Why not have a little compassion for the poor businesses?
 
JustinB said:
WHY is it not acceptable to not accept Amex/Diners Club?

It is exactly the same thing - the costs are inhibitive. If you're a small business making a nice 10% margin, why should you pay ~6% away to Amex? I'm sure >99% of Amex cardholders have a secondary Mastercard or Visa, so it doesn't hurt business that much to not accept Amex... but wow guys, you're being hard on small businesses that do not want to pay R5 in fees/commission on a R20 purchase. Not having the ability to accept Visa/Mastercard in this day and age is almost suicide.

Why not have a little compassion for the poor businesses?
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Was this adressed at me? I never claimed it is unacceptable to not accept Amex/Diner's Club, in fact, that's how a free economy should work and the more merchant's who don't accept amex/diner's club then they may eventually drop their rates... of course those are seen as premium cards, so maybe they have their place in premium stores etc. where benefits justify the costs.
 
These days the people who use Amex or Diners Club cards are the same douches who have personalised number plates.
 
Do people really walk around with no cash, for your R20 purchase it is just quicker and more efficient for both parties with a cash transaction.
 
Like Ianf1 when i worked at a Retailer, we also had a Min charge but i blame myself for not learning what i have reading this thread. Customers would give me a stare that i dare not forget and all i could say is that it was company policy (which is moot now that you understand the terms).

But something i did wonder about sometime back is can you connect your ADSL line to send the transactions to reduce costs down alot? This IMO would make things simpler as i am sure those who have ADSL coverage would switch over straight away :)
 
Carnajo said:
It's usually American Express or Diner's Club which isn't accepted, and often because a) the merchant doesn't have the facility but more often b) Amex and Diner's club charge merchant's a much higher transaction fee.

I understand a reluctance to process R10 transactions due to fixed costs, I can even understand cash discounts (and why not pass a benefit to a customer), what I can't handle is when a place has R100 to R200 minimum policies (some bars/clubs for example). That isn't avoiding fixed costs, that is avoiding tax.
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We refuse to be part of the Amex / Diners Club ripoff - they charge up to 25% and a monthly min charge or a couple of hundred rands.
 
Ianf1 said:
Do people really walk around with no cash, for your R20 purchase it is just quicker and more efficient for both parties with a cash transaction.
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I use my Capitec debit card for those R20 purchases and they are all at either KFC, Steers or PnP. This month was the first time I've drawn cash in months as I had to pay UNISA at SAPO, my bus tickets can only be paid cash - both of these are 3rd party payments - and I bought a PC from a PC retail store that charges 5% unless you bring cash!
 
Heard back from MasterCard:
Dear Customer,
You can send the information to this email and we will forward onto the Region.
Thank you,
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Seems a bit of a tedious process, would rather be able to email MasterCard in my Region directly...
 
Ianf1 said:
Do people really walk around with no cash, for your R20 purchase it is just quicker and more efficient for both parties with a cash transaction.
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Yes, I very seldom have any cash, or for that matter any type of card with me. I cycle to work, so there are no need for parking fees. I do not smoke, so I do not need to buy cigarettes at work, nor do I buy anything to eat or drink whilst I am at work. I eat breakfast before going to work at 06:00 (usually arrive at work between 07:00 - 07:15) and then I have dinner at 18:00 in the evening after I get home (I leave work roughly about 17:00). I probably spend less than R50 while I am at work during a calendar year.
 
I usually use my card for purchases above R100 or when I eat out somewhere. Only costs like R2.65 for all transactions and doesn't matter how big the amount is and makes it way cheaper than drawing money out of the ATM.
 
Got a reply back after complaining about a place where they imposed the R50 minimum fee:

Hi David,
Thank you for notifying MasterCard. As a matter of policy, MasterCard will not provide a response to any Merchant Violation submission.

Note: Information regarding Merchants located outside the U.S. can be forwarded to this email address. US merchants can reported directly at our website.

http://www.mastercard.us/support/merchant-violations.html

Sincerely
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:wtf: Really not what I was expecting, was hoping to hear back from them regarding my complaint and what they have done to rectify the situation...
 
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