To better alert and educate all consumers and retailers about the $25-billion annual hidden tax paid to banks for their collusive, price-fixing charge card fees WayTooHigh.com reports on plans to use Euros rather than Visa cards during the winter Games in Italy.
While staunch advocates for supporting the Olympics (R) and its official partners, as co-editors of WayTooHigh.com we have received suggestions from consumers to encourage using cash as much as possible during the Olympics (R). The recommendations from several calls we received was to continue drawings attention to the banks interchange fees.
Since the mid-1990s, the co-editors of WayTooHigh have regularly attended the Games, advocated for supporting the official sponsors and even created a program called "Support The Games" to encourage people to attend the Olympics (R) in Athens.
The worldwide Olympic (R) partners play a key role in subsidizing the Games which unites the entire world together and symbolizes one of the most endearing traditions.
As you might know, Visa is again a worldwide Olympic (R) partner. While we applaud their outstanding commitment to the Games, the banks which own this credit card association are also defendants in a multi-billion dollar antitrust litigation which might achieve class-action status even before the competition begins next February.
The battle waged against the banks by consumers and merchants is so important that we are hearing consumer sentiment to make another statement by using cash as much as possible when attending 2006 winter games in Italy.
Expect Visa to again launch its mighty public relations machine to explain the value of using charge and debit cards rather than Euros during the winter games. But, don't hold your breath in having them explain its policy on foreign transaction card fees or why the merchant interchange fee in Italy is less than half the rate in the United States. And, it is a good thing that these weren't the Montreal Summer Games, because in Canada the interchange fee for debit cards is .... Zero.
[source: WayTooHigh.com]
