I almost never carry cash. Those debit cards just make life so much easier. Aside from bigger purchases, I use my debit card just like I would a credit card, especially since I get rewards from my bank. I’ll swipe it to pay for a bottle of water inside a gas station after I’ve just swiped it at the pump to pay for my gas. I wouldn’t hesitate to use it to pay for a $2.50 cupcake. Until now.
I didn’t realize until I looked into this story yesterday, that it can hurt a business—particularly a small, local business. Those businesses have to pay a fee to Visa and MasterCard EVERY time a card is swiped. AND they pay a percentage—up to seven in some cases—of the total cost of your purchase each time use you use your credit card or your debit card. That may not seem significant to you until you learn, a $2.50 treat will ultimately cost the store nearly all it’s profits for that purchase. If they don’t make money… bye bye store. Of course, bigger businesses or chains don’t take as much a hit because they have more volume.
I don’t know about you but I’d like to keep my favorite local stores in business, not run them out. So if you go into your favorite store and they require you to spend a minimum of $10 in order to use your credit card, you’ll know why. It’s one of the changes that came out of financial reform. I think I’ll start tucking a few bucks away in my wallet for those small, unexpected purchases.
Posted by Dawn Jefferies at 11:19 AM. Filed under: main •
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