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Credit Card Checkout Fees: Have You Noticed Them?

As of the end of January, merchants in Missouri could start charging an extra fee when you use your credit card. Has it curtailed your use of a credit card?

Missouri is one of 40 states in the nation that now allows merchants to charge an extra "checkout fee" when customers use their credit cards, according to the International Business Times.

The merchants got that authority starting in the last Sunday of January after settlement in a case involving millions of merchants against Visa, MasterCard and nine major credit card issuing banks.

The case involved claims of price fixing among issuers on credit card fees charged to merchants. In the settlement, credit card issuers agreed to reduce those "swipe fees" for eight months. CNN Money says the settlement also let retailers add a surcharge if a customer uses a credit card to cover the processing costs of about 1.5 percent to 3 percent of the purchase.

The fee is illegal in 10 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma and Texas.

Although Missouri is one of the states where the additional surcharge could happen, the National Retail Federation tells NBC News that it hasn't come across any retailers who plan to levy the fee.

"We have discussed the settlement with many, many merchants, and not a single merchant we have spoken to plans to surcharge," Craig Shearman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation, said in a statement reported by NBC News.

Have you noticed any fees like this in your recent shopping? Do you think it would be fair if retailers charged it? Would it affect your use of credit cards in your shopping?

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Carol Size February 17, 2013 at 11:19 am
WOW Kurt - kudos to you. You are the first St. Louis media person to report this.
The PD has been awol as usual. They are a worthless rag unless they are promoting their leftest agenda.
Elizabeth O'Fallon February 17, 2013 at 01:31 pm
Carol, I remember reading this article in the Post last July. http://www.stltoday.com/business/columns/david-nicklaus/in-heavyweight-fight-over-card-fees-consumers-are-the-likely/article_f9729cde-d1ef-11e1-a598-001a4bcf6878.html
Carol Size February 17, 2013 at 01:40 pm
Wow Elizabeth,what a fantastic memory you have. I didn't hear about this until Jan when it came into effect. I thought that would have been an appropriate time for the PD to have reported it in their front page section. I contacted them about reporting the story but as usual, no one bothered to respond to my request.
Carol Size February 17, 2013 at 01:41 pm
Say Kurt, are you or anyone else going to report about area Democrats wanting to confiscate our guns?
Melissa Campbell February 17, 2013 at 01:41 pm
I wonder how it would show up on a receipt....I will be on the look out.
I do not think it would be fair if retailers charged an extra fee. I imagine they already figure in credit card fees into their prices.
Carol Size February 17, 2013 at 01:50 pm
In the January article I read on a business/money website, it said the retailer was required to post the charging of the fee at the register somewhere. I think this would be a software problem that may take a while to institute as an additional fee,
Bill February 17, 2013 at 02:26 pm
I won't be using my card less...just different places.
Melissa February 17, 2013 at 03:01 pm
I don't have a problem with a business charging a fee for credit card payments. It's essentially a cash discount. There are wholesale businesses that I purchase from that for years list their prices as cash prices and charge a percentage as a "lost cash discount" if you pay with a credit card.
David Mulcahy February 17, 2013 at 03:34 pm
Carol, please do tell what the story is about democrats wanting to confiscate our guns. Will they be coming in on black helicopters?
Chris P February 17, 2013 at 06:45 pm
David, Carol is a caricature, not a real person. Its disgusting filth has polluted the P-D comments for years. Now it is posting on Patch. I recommend flagging it so Patch understands that readers won't tolerate off-topic, vitriolic hate on every single article.
Trish Carpenter February 17, 2013 at 10:27 pm
I know Aramark does charge this for food purchase even if you are only spendng 2.68 they charge you an extra 1.00
Carol Size February 18, 2013 at 02:18 am
I guess you don't read the Post-Dispatch. Don't feel bad, no one else does either.
I didn't know they were into black helicopters over there: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elizabeth-crisp/gun-proposals-spur-interest-in-missouri-legislature/article_5d04e3c8-5d2d-58c1-8d81-7a781c23cac1.html
Carol Size February 18, 2013 at 02:19 am
Seems to me YOU are the one spewing off-topic vitriolic hate Chris P.
Carol Size February 18, 2013 at 02:20 am
Oh and BTW I now Kurt and he knows I'm real.
Josh February 18, 2013 at 12:20 pm
Carol, here's a suggestion: stop reading the PD if you don't like it, there are plenty of other places to get news.
Carol Size February 18, 2013 at 01:17 pm
Sorry, Josh, but it is just way too much fun watching what they edit out of their news selection such as today. No mention of the PRes. vacationing at a 1%'rs ONLY golf club in Florida while there are freezing XL Pipeline protestors protesting the White House and of course never any mention of the rising gas prices while Obama is president and wants to raise them even more with his cap and trade scheme - and no mention that gas prices have risen 43 cents in the last month alone. Nothing to see here scheeples, just move on along. But you are right about one thing, I have to use the Internet to find my real news. I prefer to read both the biased and truthful sources myself, that way I can determine what is really important. Thanks for your helpful suggestion however.
Elizabeth O'Fallon February 18, 2013 at 01:25 pm
I know this thread is about Credit Cards, but I spoke personally with my State Representative about HB 545 for about 30+ minutes last Thursday. My Rep is a co-sponsor and she admitted she hadn't even read the bill before deciding to co-sponsor it. She had no idea it would mean gun confiscation. The bill is a whopping 3 pages long printed out and written with pretty clear language--I was able to read it in a few minutes. When are we won't to stop putting up with politicians who don't do what we pay them to do such as read bills? Especially when the proposals are crazy and violate our Constitutional rights.
Kurt Greenbaum (Editor) February 18, 2013 at 01:25 pm
Any chance we can get back to the topic, friends? Seriously?
Thomas Nitzsche February 18, 2013 at 05:56 pm
As credit counselors for a national non-profit agency, we have not fielded any complaints or consumer mentions of this fee in particular, but as Melissa mentions there are some retailers that offer a cash discount. Off the top of my head I am thinking of gas stations, but I am sure there are others.
Thomas Nitzsche ClearPoint Credit Counseling Solutions www.clearpointccs.org

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Conny Manero June 2, 2013 at 11:06 pm
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MuzzledRooster May 11, 2013 at 01:03 pm
In my opinion the victims are not to blame for the crimes committed against them. However, commonRead More sense dictates that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Lock your car doors, do not leave valuables in plain sight, don't leave the ground floor windows on your home open when you're away, wear a seatbelt. Duh! There's no shortage of scumbags ready and willing to take advantage of you. Don't make it easy for them.
trail gal May 12, 2013 at 03:28 am
Maybe the person has nothing worth stealing in the car and has a gun to protect the home? So, whenRead More the person walks into that house, are you going to blame the homeowner for "entrapment"? ROTFLOL Maybe the person is like MY home, with 3 dogs over 130# that will literally tear an intruder to shreds...Can't wait to see the person's face when they come eye level with the 160# sleeping on the landing....Oh wait...Or will my dogs then be charged as "vicious" and killed because they accomplished their jobs LOL Wake up! It's time for REAL personal responsibility. NOBODY has the right to enter ANY other person's property without an invitation, locked or unlocked. The old saying, "If it's not yours, don't touch it" still applies.
Rockwood 25 May 12, 2013 at 02:16 pm
Agreed. Just because a thief or vandal else clearly does wrong, does not mean the victim isRead More necessarily "right" or blameless. It also doesn't mean they have equal blame or most of it. Such black and white thinking on this board. Sometimes victims couldn't have done anything better. Sometimes we can all learn something from the situation...like locking things up and keeping valuables out of sight.
Claudia Boliba April 21, 2013 at 05:51 pm
Today I would like to reflect on all the bright lights of Boston . The ones who comforted ,caressedRead More and carried others to safety. The ones who opened up their arms, their houses, their hearts to others. The ones who crossed the line in amazing times and the hundreds with amazing grace. The two young women who lit up their families lives with dreams for the future and one bright young man with wisdom beyond his years, "No more hurting people. Peace." They will shine forever in the hearts of Bostonians, Americans, and all human beings!
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Sam Sanders April 22, 2013 at 11:45 am
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