Stanley Brinkerhoff wrote:
Regardless -- I was more curious of if it is possible; and has it been
done. I have no idea why other alternative currencies fail -- but I
do know I hate carrying cash -- and I feel horrible when I whip out an
American Express, the merchant's machine doesnt scan the card, they
type the number in manually, and get charged who knows what rate...
while I get discount flights and Dell coupons.
Well, Visa/MC tend to cost merchants $0.35 + 2.4% of the total
purchase. AmEx really does gouge the merchants, their processing fee is
$0.35 + 5% of the purchase price, which is how they can afford to give
you discount flights and coupons. (Not sure about the fixed portion of
the AmEx fee)
If a local store is selling low margin goods (i.e. 10% markup) then
credit card costs become a significant overhead. A 2.4% bite taken out
of a 10% markup means the merchant just lost 25% of their profit to the
credit card companies. Obviously this applies more to commodities
(lumber, gasoline, groceries ) than to luxury goods like $4 coffee and
jewelry, but it's why most restaurants really dislike taking Amex.
If you're looking to help out local merchants but don't want to carry
cash, use a debit card wherever possible. The transaction fee on a
debit transaction is only 10-15 cents.
Rene
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René Churchill [email protected]
Geek Two 802-244-7880 x527
Your Source for Local Information http://www.wherezit.com
