A dramatic new charge for the use of credit cards is about to begin in the U.S. They’re calling it a checkout fee and it can legally run to as much as four per cent of the value of the purchase if you pay with a Visa or MasteCard. This charge comes about as the result of a settlement between the card companies the U.S. government over the fees being collected for the use of so-called premium cards. Those are the ones that carry a higher transaction fee for retailers. It has been an issue in Canada where the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) has been fighting to give retailers the same freedom to off set the added “swipe charge” of the growing number of premium cards. For more than a year, Visa and MasterCard have been calculating ways to get more from retailers so they can offer their card holders “gifts” and “premiums”. Of course nothing is really free and sooner or later the consumer is going to pay for those alleged freebies either through a checkout charge similar to those now effective in the U.S., or in higher prices. In Canada, credit card companies have been successful in fighting off demands by retailers to charge consumers selectively more for premium cards. As it stands, if a merchant signs on to accept Visa, he must charge whatever the card company says, and no more.
