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The sad thing is the cartoon isn’t that far off from the truth. It leaves out one real fee, although one that many people aren’t familiar with, the interchange fee. This is the fee collected by the credit card companies and their member banks from merchants every time you use plastic to buy something.
The great part is this fee drives up the price of all goods, so you bear the cost whether paying with plastic or cash. Also, it’s charged on the sales price as well as the sales tax so it amounts to a tax on a tax. This is just another example of the non-disclosure the card companies use since they prohibit merchants from telling us how much interchange costs. If you’re curious it was $26 billion last year. You can check out more info at my organization’s website, www.unfaircreditcardfees.com
I agree, the merchant fees are completely ridiculous. It actually occurred to me after I finished the cartoon that I could’ve included a gag about them. Maybe in a future Slowpoke!
The sad thing is the cartoon isn’t that far off from the truth. It leaves out one real fee, although one that many people aren’t familiar with, the interchange fee. This is the fee collected by the credit card companies and their member banks from merchants every time you use plastic to buy something.
The great part is this fee drives up the price of all goods, so you bear the cost whether paying with plastic or cash. Also, it’s charged on the sales price as well as the sales tax so it amounts to a tax on a tax. This is just another example of the non-disclosure the card companies use since they prohibit merchants from telling us how much interchange costs. If you’re curious it was $26 billion last year. You can check out more info at my organization’s website, www.unfaircreditcardfees.com
— Hunter - Jun 28, 02:30 PM - #I agree, the merchant fees are completely ridiculous. It actually occurred to me after I finished the cartoon that I could’ve included a gag about them. Maybe in a future Slowpoke!
— Jen Sorensen - Jul 1, 10:04 PM - #