CREDIT CARDS WELCOME, AS LONG AS YOU MEET THE MINIMUM. IF NOT, BUY MORE!
Despite the seemingly endless number of ATMs to be found in every neighborhood, sometimes it is just easier to pay for small items with a credit/debit card. This avoids he imposition of costly ATM fees or a pesky Canadian trio will try to steal your money.
More often than not, once you get to the register with your bottle of water or bagel and present your card, you will be met with a shake of the head and a point to a hand-written sign that says “$________ minimum for all credit/debit transactions.” Well, if the handwritten sign attached to the register says so, it must be true, right? The answer, unfortunately is, maybe.
Until 2010, most credit card networks prohibited merchants from setting minimums for credit card transactions. A coalition of retail and small business organizations asked Congress to change this. The request received little notice because it was just a few short lines of text that made up the nearly 900 page Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act .The law states that merchants can set a credit card minimum purchase of up to $10.00, as long as they treat all cards the same. It also allows the Federal Reserve to review and increase the minimum payment amount.
When confronted with this, if the sign says $10.00 minimum and all you have is a bagel and you want to pay by card, you are going to have to load up on additional items to reach the minimum. If however the minimum is above the $10.00 limit, consumers can report violations by merchants by contacting their issuing banks using the numbers listed on the back of their credit cards or contact the card company directly.
¹ (Sidel, Robin. ATM Fees Heading Higher. 16 Mar. 2011. The Wall Street Journal.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703566504576202792887598636.html.
² (Peltz, Jennifer. 3 Men From Canada Charged with NYC ATM Scam. 16 Nov. 2011. The Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/AP686ce864c7d34238a8a1f8dad077a1bb.html.
³ 111th Congress (2009 – 2010) H.R.4173. Page 698. Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-111hr4173enr/pdf/BILLS-111hr4173enr.pdf.
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