Extra Fee Using Credit Card

[JDJones]

They aren't charging you 5% more, they charge the regular price, and give you a 5% discount if you pay with cash.

That's how you get around the agreement with Cardnet and others.

Get it?

It's only the uninformed employees that make the mistake of saying "I have to add 5% extra."

[Castellamonte]

It is true that charging a different rate for a credit card vs any other form of payment might well be a violation of the merchant agreement between the credit card company and the merchant. However, that is almost always focused only in the United States. Furthermore, there are many ways around the "violation" which are perfectly acceptable to credit card companies.

If a company discloses an "administrative handling fee" for the use of a credit card and charges separately for it, that is perfectly acceptable. Many companies outsource the credit card processing and, of course, there is an administrative cost to doing this. So charging a fee to cover it or even to make a profit on it is valid and legal.

[rubio_higuey]

All merchants accounts I had did have strict rules:
- no minimums could be imposed
- no surcharge on CC payment permitted. Cash discount was OK though.
Discover is more lenient, Amex same as VISA/MC and Diners Club is pain in the a##

[rubio_higuey]

Originally Posted by Castellamonte

If a company discloses an "administrative handling fee" for the use of a credit card and charges separately for it, that is perfectly acceptable. Many companies outsource the credit card processing and, of course, there is an administrative cost to doing this. So charging a fee to cover it or even to make a profit on it is valid and legal.

That is true, especially sites in Britain, such as hotels/airlines, impose a fixed credit card charge fee, which is probably bracket-type and determined (back-office) for the purchase in real time.

[MikeFisher]

Chiri,
the explanation of your hotel guy in la capital for charging 16% tax on credit card while not doing so when paid cash is clearly illegal, and btw dangerously stu of that employee to state such.
by law that hotel has to pay the tax on all it's income, doesn't matter if customers pay by CC or cash or checks aso.
sure we know it is not like that in practice, but a hotel adding the tax when you wanna pay by CC and not doing so when you pay cash runs the danger that you, the client, send them the tax investigators on their neck for their illegal non tax paying cash sales, ha ha.
to the mentioning of the 5% or less for the 'cardnet' aso, such varies a bit by providers.
i use myself visanet for processing visa cards and master cards,
depending on your average monthly volume they offer different packages/deals.
i work with them since a long time and run actually 2 different contracts with them, under 2 different company names.
on one contract we pay a 6% to them,
on the other one, which been when set up long ago also on 6%, we pay todays just 4%.
and yes, in addition to that a 2% tax prepayment will be kept by them which you can put in your monthly tax statements to get that discounted on your actual tax rate.
Mike