Cost to retailers of tapping card

maxsmum

Use my card everywhere to tap for everything, to be honest, but still a few shops still ask for minimum spends.
I don't tap for a packet of chewing gum or anything, I'm talking 4-5 euro minimum each time but some shops still have a 'minimum 10 euro' rule.
It costs me 25c to take out cash, but 1c to tap, so I always tap instead of taking out cash and the minimum spend thing really annoys me.
Does it really cost retailers a punitive fee for me to tap a card?

OldMrBrennan83

Go to a different shop. I'm not being flippant, but enough people doing it is the only way they'll learn, especially if you go to make the purchase and just leave the items on the counter and go when they tell you about minimum spend.

Kristopherus

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

Go to a different shop. I'm not being flippant, but enough people doing it is the only way they'll learn, especially if you go to make the purchase and just leave the items on the counter and go when they tell you about minimum spend.

But, but, but, that is taking it out on the shop assistant. S/He will have to restock whats left at the till. It's owner/manager that should be getting the message, imo.

OldMrBrennan83

Kristopherus wrote: »

But, but, but, that is taking it out on the shop assistant. S/He will have to restock whats left at the till. It's owner/manager that should be getting the message, imo.

Well unless you're going to ask for management each time then the message is still far more likely to reach them than it will if you just buy more stuff to appease their silly rule.

maxsmum

OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

Go to a different shop. I'm not being flippant, but enough people doing it is the only way they'll learn, especially if you go to make the purchase and just leave the items on the counter and go when they tell you about minimum spend.

This is exactly what I do. But it happened yesterday and what I wanted to buy I couldn't get elsewhere so it really irritated me.
It was the shop owner I dealt with so he got the message!

jimmii

As a retailer I would love people to use card for every purchase! It would make a lot easier its baffling that any retailer still has card minimums. If anything I'd love to get rid of all cash payments. Customers still seem to feel guilty about using card for low value payments sometimes!

**Timbuk2**

The coffee shop beside Pearse St entrance of Pearse Station has a €5 minimum.

I would have guessed that most transactions in 'commuter' coffee shops are for single coffees costing in the €2.50-€4 range so it seems like it would rule out a lot of their transactions.

maxsmum

jimmii wrote: »

As a retailer I would love people to use card for every purchase! It would make a lot easier its baffling that any retailer still has card minimums. If anything I'd love to get rid of all cash payments. Customers still seem to feel guilty about using card for low value payments sometimes!

So it's not like it costs the retailer something prohibitive for me to tap my card?

homer911

I see Fire charges 40c per transaction.
https://www.fire.com/fees-and-charges/
I dont know what mainstream banks charge but that could easily wipe out the profit on a small transaction

jimmii

maxsmum wrote: »

So it's not like it costs the retailer something prohibitive for me to tap my card?

We're only small and it's around 1% (plus a small monthly fee). When you think of how much time it takes to count change orders and count the safe on a regular basis then card becomes a lot more favourable.

It's only really the last couple of years that card payment fees have dropped a lot and I would imagine certain retailers are tied into fixed term contracts from years back for what were favourable terms then but horribly bad now.

jimmii

homer911 wrote: »

I see Fire charges 40c per transaction.
https://www.fire.com/fees-and-charges/
I dont know what mainstream banks charge but that could easily wipe out the profit on a small transaction

That's only going to appeal to retailers with high margin or high ATV a convenience shop with lower margins would be crazy to sign up to something like that.

rubadub

jimmii wrote: »

As a retailer I would love people to use card for every purchase!

Customers still seem to feel guilty about using card for low value payments sometimes!

I would put a sign up in the shop so. Clearly stating that there is no minimum spend and that you actually prefer card payments.

Many presume it costs shops more, but I have read several like yourself who prefer it. An auld lad in work used to scold me for using a card for small purchases in the supervalu near us.

Maybe the shops who do have min spends actually find cards more convenient and are just chancing their arm to get people to spend more, not realising how many they lose or piss off.

jimmii

Almost no need at this point already 90% of our payments are card! Would be a good way to weed out those whose guilt tips them over to paying by cash instead. You can definitely tell its older people who are still tied to cash payments for smaller things younger people just assume it's fine.

Pauliedragon

There was a thread about this recently I can't find it. A venue in Dublin I think had a €10 limit on transactions. There was very conflicting info on what banks charge retailers.

Rulmeq

Pauliedragon wrote: »

There was very conflicting info on what banks charge retailers.

Because each payment processor charges different fees. Some have a flat rate per month which is great, because it means retailers would want you to tap. But others charge a flat fee for tapping, or debit cards (10-50c depending on the processor), and usually a % rate for credit cards (0.5 to 5% again depending on the processor, and how many transactions etc.).
The interchange fees were reduced a few years back, but that probably only benefited the retailers who were being charged interchange+ type fees.

The point people are missing though when it comes to cash, is that cash is practically free (even if it isn't - additional security risks and the like are overlooked), because retailers can pay their suppliers in cash, so they cash doesn't even go near the bank (this also has the additional illegal benefit of allowing them to hide it*). If a retailer were to deposit cash directly to the bank, then the charges for dealing with cash (and the added rules around how to bundle it up) would be similar to the charges for cards.



*Sadly this is probably the primary reason they don't like cards.

Emmersonn

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

The coffee shop beside Pearse St entrance of Pearse Station has a €5 minimum.

I would have guessed that most transactions in 'commuter' coffee shops are for single coffees costing in the €2.50-€4 range so it seems like it would rule out a lot of their transactions.

If enough single cups of coffee are left on the counter they might get the message

CosmicFool

I used to work in a pub and they had the clover card machines. Money went straight into the owners account within 1 working day or at the weekends it would be the Monday. I don't understand why people there aren't more around the place

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Rulmeq wrote:

The point people are missing though when it comes to cash, is that cash is practically free (even if it isn't - additional security risks and the like are overlooked), because retailers can pay their suppliers in cash, so they cash doesn't even go near the bank (this also has the additional illegal benefit of allowing them to hide it*). If a retailer were to deposit cash directly to the bank, then the charges for dealing with cash (and the added rules around how to bundle it up) would be similar to the charges for cards.

The offcounter, or business counter in banks are not free. It's also a far greater risk to a retailer to hold onto cash instead of banking it. The charges by banks for some transactions are ridiculous, considering the profit banks can make. Those fees should be an absolute minimum to encourage a cashless society.

How is it done in Australia or Canada where you can use the tap function everywhere? Anybody know the charges?

woodyman

A popular pub in Dublin refused my card for a drink recently. Cost around 6 euro and they had a 10 euro minimum. I was so surprised that I actually asked if the barman was joking. This is a large premises aimed mainly at people in their 20s. Most of whom prefer to use card.

I remember looking into this before and came across the link attached. While there seems to be no law yet preventing minimum card payments, Visa and Mastercard supposedly forbid minimum spend and allow you to report retailers.

http://www.moneyguideireland.com/minimum-spend-debit-cards-allowed.html

paul71

There is no cost to a retailer for processing a single debit card transaction with the main banks card terminals. There is a monthly rental charge for a card terminal and there are percentage charges for credit cards but not for debit cards.

Retailers putting a minimum on their terminals are shooting themselves in the foot because the banks actually charge for lodging cash but not for debit card receipts, so the retailer refusing cards are 1) Incurring cost on lodging cash 2) Losing customers.

rubberdungeon

Pauliedragon wrote: »

There was a thread about this recently I can't find it. A venue in Dublin I think had a €10 limit on transactions. There was very conflicting info on what banks charge retailers.

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057948275/1/#post109199590

homer911

For casual traders, SumUp charges 2.75%

Rulmeq

paul71 wrote: »

There is no cost to a retailer for processing a single debit card transaction with the main banks card terminals.

Nope. There may be a MMSC (minimum monthly service charge) which means that you don't see the individual charges (because you haven't done enough to hit the minium), but there's no payment processor giving free debit cards in Ireland.