$10 min eftpos

[santiago]

maybe one day we will be going "ahh remember the freedom of my plastic card" when they start to scan the microchip in your finger as you buy fish and chips.

[drgibbon]

and the only reason you wanted fish and chips was because the neuro-ads wrote a craving for fish and chips into your wired brain..

[san p]

id have to say ive never found a shop that made you buy $10 worth of stuff just to use eftpos.i think some shops use to try to have a $2 minimum for eftpos but i havnt seen a shop do that here for probably 10 years now.

if a shop like dairy wants high flow of customers then i think they all realise they have to have credit card and eftpos services availible and consider it worth the cost so they can make sales and also i guess to keep customers happy.

[santiago]

so if i read this right this makes $10 minimum eftpos null and void right, as a matter of fact any company attempting to use the minimum eftpos for values of $15 or less can be reported to your ombudsman or chamber of commerce for fraudulent practices, falsely misleading for monetary gain.

http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/EFTPOS-fees-hit-small-aap-598076887.html?x=0

purchases of less than $15 will be exempt

Consumers could be slugged more for everything from fruit and veg to the latest designer fashions due to a rise in EFTPOS transaction fees, the nation's peak small business group warns.

From October, the way EFTPOS transactions are structured will change, so that merchants' banks will be charged a five-cent fee when a customer uses the electronic payments system.

This will reverse an existing arrangement whereby a cardholder's bank pays a five-cent fee to the merchant's bank for each transaction.

The Council of Small Business Organisations of Australia said consumers would likely end up bearing the brunt of the new fee, as retailers struggled amid tough trading conditions.

"Some people will build it into their costs, while others will take the option to say, well, if you use a card you've got an extra three per cent or five per cent added to the cost of the transaction," executive director Peter Strong said.

"It's indicative of the whole problem around retailing - the dollar's up, people aren't spending, internet costs are impacting, and now the fee is going up on the credit card charges."

Under the proposed changes, EFTPOS Payments Australia Limited (ePal), the company established to manage the EFTPOS debit payments network, will charge merchants' banks a five-cent fee for all EFTPOS transactions over $15.

Transactions relating to charities, Medicare Easyclaim and purchases of less than $15 will be exempt, as are payments made at Coles and Woolworths.

Mr Strong said most small businesses, many of which were struggling just to say afloat, would be unable to absorb the higher transaction costs.

Retail sales fell 0.1 per cent in June, seasonally adjusted, following a 0.6 per cent fall in May.

Meanwhile, a key indicator of consumer sentiment, the Westpac - Melbourne Institute index, fell to the lowest level since the global financial crisis three years ago.

"All that it (the EFTPOS charge) will do is subtract from their profits or even increase their losses - it's one of those things that's really frustrating," Mr Strong said.

However, according to EFTPOS Payments Australia Ltd (EPAL), the company that manages the debit system, consumers should not face new charges following planned changes to EFTPOS interchange fees.

EPAL managing director Bruce Mansfield said the changes to come into effect later this year affected financial institutions on either side of EFTPOS transactions and did not involve direct charges to either consumers or retailers.

"The changes to EFTPOS include an incentive for retailers to accept EFTPOS for purchases under $15, potentially making minimum EFTPOS amounts a thing of the past and will not result in any increase in consumer bank fees. That's very good news for consumers," Mr Mansfield said in a statement on Friday.

 

[DarkSpark]

Also has that theory of the customer is always right officially died.

that is a saying that customers made up for themselves. The correct saying is "The customer always THINKS they are right"

while i find it annoying i respect that the shops have to pay for eftpos and prices of items are set at a designated profit margin. Once they have to factor in extra expenses the prices have to rise. The one that gets me is that my local post office has a $10 minimum for Westpac, but not commonwealth. Obviously some kind of deal worked out there.

Taxis charge a 10% surcharge on fares for using card. now THAT is a rip off. However they are using mobile devices which cost more it is still a bit rich. i think the 5 dollar minimum is acceptable 10 a bit high anything above that is a joke.

I guess the simple option would be, if you don't like having to pay for ease then get cash out. However if you are losing money through having cash then maybe the minimal fees aren't so bad ?

edit: interesting link santiago. Note that it does also cost them a phone call to send the signal out (Unless this has changed)

[Sheather]

But doesn't come into effect until october this year, so don't get your arguing caps on just yet.