The partner stopped for a take away coffee at a small cafe she had not been before and paid cash.
Nothing about surcharges was posted anywhere she could see and out of curiosity asked if they surcharged cards. The answer was yes. She asked how much the surcharge was. They replied they did not know. Whether an employee or the owner, that should not be on for fear of prosecution (such as it is).
As is so common enforcement depends on customers complaining. This has become pervasive. A $5 coffee per week is $260 p.a. and at a common 1.35% surcharge is only $3.51, but if every business does it and one spends $50,000 p.a. that is $675 for the privilege of paying by card.
All restaurants and pubs in WA are now offering tap and go to patrons to pay for meals and drinks. Many automatically charge a surcharge on each transaction. Invariably staff do not know there is a surcharge automatically charged by the machine on credit/debit cards. On questioning often in very small print there is a note re charges for credit cards on the device or hidden somewhere in a large menu.
Recent experiences at Samsons Paddock Mosman Pk and Cobblers Tavern Halls Head highlight this underhand practice where all cards both debit and credit were charged 1.2% on top of the bill. Indeed a friend using Qantas Travel/debit card in Oz dollars was charged 2.4% extra to access his money by the restaurant automatically!! Even Perth City Council is charging a fee for using a card to pay for parking now at PCC carparks as a convenience!
Having just returned from Europe and using tap and go debit cards, no charges were ever added. Why is this accepted in WA/Australia in 2023 as we move to a cashless society? The RBA is responsible for surcharge levels I understand and it appears it has not been reviewed since 2017. Post COVID this is now outdated. What will tourists and new migrants think especially as staff often do not know a surcharge is being made?
I moved your post into this existing topic about surcharges. You are not alone in your distaste but some observers have alternative views. I am like-minded with yourself but I have to admit:
somebody needs to fund the payments system. Traditionally ādividends are importantā in Australia (I am sure you understand what I mean) and consumers often less so.
Prices in the USA are considered to be about 5% higher than they should be because as in the EU, surcharging is just ānot doneā so the costs are rolled into the prices.
As you are aware there are supposed to be signs about surcharges but they are almost as rare as a sighted drop bear, and getting more so. While we have ārules and regulationsā about many things we lack āproactive enforcementā until there is a formal complaint lodged, and then it is usually case by case not addressing the underlying problem.
With the Pacific Peso (as the Aussie is often called) being around $USD0.64 I suspect those from 1st world countries would see it mostly as a curiosity even while suspecting they may be getting ripped off. As for the staff, that is a training problem on each business - not posted and not conveyed and not enforced.
There is another related topic you may have noticed that also discusses aspects.
and a few others on the Community, many with links to Choice articles, discoverable using the Community search tool, and often Google will return them.
We have changed our business PoS Payment Platform from SquareUp to our Bank which now offers Least Cost Routing. This means that they can offer payment platform with significantly cheaper merchant fees than that offered by SquareUp (0.88% ext GST compared to 1.9% inc. GST).
There are some differences. Transactions with the EFTPOS Least Cost Console is only through the handset as there is no website interface. Subject to approval, MOTO purchases and AMEX cards can be used by the merchant. It also has an Optus/Telstra SIM for mobile payments (the basic SquareUp console only works through WIFI - hotspot or WLAN). It can also be integrated with PoS systems like cash registers.
The lower merchant fees is not only good for the business in reducing merchant costs compared to other third party PoS payment platforms, but also reduces onward costs to the consumer.
Whatās the cost to consumers (or is it added shareholder value) in the surcharges on card transactions?
This much, with a suggestion the cost should be reduced.
I just visited my local ācoinā DIY car wash and ran short of coin so used its card facility for the first time. Without detail it is an educational experience akin to a 24 hour robot servo but without visible instructions.
Post use the realisation set in that waving the card multiple times pre-authorises in $4 increments per wave and from the first wave it warns a $0.50 surcharge applies. Nothing about āgoā or ācancelā, just a āstopā button that is similar to āall filled no more pleaseā.
A tidy surcharge amount assuming it reflects actual costs to the car wash owner, but not āleast-cost routingā. Who knows without having the contract. Next time, if there is one, I know what I need to know about it.
