The brazenness with which the banks are bulling merchants has just reached a new level of paralyzing boldness. In a Visa-funded "alert," the alarmist headline suggests a major inequity: "illegal credit card surcharging exposed."
They claim that "merchants who accept the most widely used credit cards want to pass the costs associated with credit card processing onto consumers ... By adding a surcharge or more appropriate, a `check out fee' to your purchase."
Rather than charging a surcharge, merchants can legally simplify the transaction by explaining to consumers about this $25 billion annual hidden tax. Then, ask their retail customers to pay with cash or checks - both are without interchange fees.
Better yet, why doesn't this group behind the bank-owned mirage explain that what is illegal are the banks-owned credit card associations' violation of antitrust laws and price-fixing?
[source: WayTooHigh.com]
