Merchants pay up to 3% of every transaction back to the credit card company. Not only that, but these credit card companies
have a lot of power and influence while small business don’t have any choice.
One way to help your local small business is to use cash or debt when paying. Cash is even better because they will not have to pay virtually any transaction fees on it. These savings add up to hundreds or even thousands for your local small business. In turn, these savings can translate into more job hirings, more investments in the local community and so on.
Some people prefer to pay with credit as it may mean more convenience, loyalty points etc. For the rest or those who don’t care one way or another, using cash will help your local economy and that is always a good thing.
Recently, credit card companies were in court defending against accusations from small business retailers that they were bullying them and charging them too much in credit card transaction fees. Unfortunately, the case couldn’t be proven and the credit card companies continue their practices of overcharging and putting too many burdens on small businesses. Though they can’t do much about that, the consumer can help these businesses by paying with cash.
“Canadians are paying more than they should be at the register because of these high fees,” retail council spokesperson David Wilkes said. “Totalling more than $6 billion annually, these fees have a negative effect on merchants and consumers alike.”
So not only are these fees harming small businesses and retailers, they are also harming consumers’ pockets, costing them in the billions. Retailers have to pass on these expenses to the consumer at the end of the day and that is a lose-lose for both and only the credit card companies benefit.
Example: Credit Card vs. Debt vs. Cash payment
Suppose you bought something from your local store for $500. If you paid for it with a credit card, at 3%, the retailer would be charged close to $15 in transaction fees! If you paid for that same item using debt, the transaction fee to the retailer would be only half of that (at $7.50). And if you paid with cash, they would incur no charges at all.
Some may argue that since retailers pass on these credit card transaction expenses back to the consumer, it makes no difference what method of payment to use. That may be true for some but not all retailers. Furthermore, even if they are passing some of these expenses and including it in the price, paying cash or debt still makes more sense, when all things are considered.
One word of advise to small businesses who want to encourage people to pay with cash: instead of charging people a certain amount to use credit card below a certain amount (say 50 cents to use credit card for any transaction below $5) , why not change or add to that by actually giving customers a discount when paying with cash, above a certain amount (say $100)? Even if it is a 1% discount, it is still a good psychological motive for people to use cash rather than credit.