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February 7, 2013

Retailers can charge a fee for credit cards

  • Retailers in 40 states can charge customers to use plastic thanks to a class action lawsuit against Visa and MasterCard, but many say they won't.
    • By JOYCE M. ROSENBERG
    AP Business Writer

    NEW YORK — Gretel-Ann Fischer already told customers that she won't accept credit cards for purchases under $5 at her Vermont bakery. The last thing she wants to do is anger them by passing along the transaction fee she has to pay each time they use plastic.

    Fischer is one of thousands of retailers in 40 states who now have the right to charge customers the fees that come along with using credit cards. They won that right as part of a settlement of a class action lawsuit brought by merchants against the credit card companies Visa and MasterCard and major banks that issue credit cards. But many small retailers say that customers will bolt if they tack on a surcharge that could range from 1.5 percent and 4 percent of purchases made with plastic.


     
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