Foreign Vending Machine Query...

Not so at some gas stations which charge more for card purchases and less for cash.

 

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There was apparently a legal decision in 2013 saying that credit-card companies could no longer forbid their clients to charge more for credit purchases. Here's an article on the topic.

After decades during which it was prohibited, though, not many merchants have taken advantage of the change -- except gas stations. Even that's still uncommon in most of the places I travel.

 

I don't know the older I get the lazier I seem to get. I am finding it more convenient to shop online then to get into my truck and drive up to a store to get something that I want. If I really don't need the product right away, it's actually cheaper for me to go online and order it with free shipping. Than it is to get in my truck and drive all the way to the store and back. When I do I've got the wear and tear on my vehicle plus about average of two dollars in gas. If I don't need the product right away I'll wait for. And save myself the time and expense of actually going out and getting it the same day.And one thing I'm finding out nowadays. Some but not a lot of companies selling products will charge more depending on the way you pay. I understand why they do that. But I still think that is BS. But like I said I can understand it and as a seller myself. I preferred to be paid PayPal. It's for the convenience more of anything, the money goes right into my account.-jeffB Like you said I'm a little behind on the technology. Especially today you can walk by someone and they can get all your information just by scanning the information on your credit cards. Especially with the chips that they put in the cards nowadays. That's why the companies now are making a big profit on these protective scanning cardholders.One thing that still ticks me off about people using their credit or debit cards to buy one item. Instead of just throwing down five dollar bill and paying for it and going. Then to run their debit card through the machine enter their PIN number having a cashier to wait to have it verified. By that time you could I have three people paying cash and with a lot more items go through the line by the time this one individual pays for one item with a debit card. It may be convenient for that individual but is inconvenient for the other people waiting to go through the line. I should say just the people that intend on paying cash. Which nowadays it is considered more and more a rarity to pay cash for your items.One thing I notice at the supermarket near my house. Out front of the store they have one of those water machines. That you put a 5 gallon jug in and get it filled for certain amount. I have a tendency to asked these people which I see all the time spending money get these 5 gallon jugs filled with water. Why they just don't go up to the Walmart. And just buy one of the water filtering systems on sale, which they can hook to their own kitchen faucet. And get the same filter water as this machine given them. And they don't have to carry that 5 gallon jug to the supermarket and then back home filled with water. I informed the people to look at the hose connected to the water faucet behind the machine to the store. Jokingly I tell them they can come to my house and fill that 5 gallon jug up for the same price as the machine charges them. It's the same water. Here I go again with RMD. Basically a lot of people just don't care nowadays. It's easier to carry plastic than cash. Evidently these people have not been back in a country area, where the little mom and pop country store. Has a sign in their window and you know who we trust. All others pay cash. Trying to keep away from the religious part. But you get where I'm coming from these people are screwed if they need to fill their vehicle up with gas and they don't accept credit cards. And yes there are a few stores out there that still don't accept credit cards or checks, especially checks. I'm remember one time I asked pop. At one of these country stores. That mom his wife. Sure had a lot of fancy jewelry. Pop told me he says son. That's one reason I don't accept credit cards or checks. Only cash. And when people pull in Here and need gas, and do not have any physical cash whatsoever. They tend to do a little bartering to get enough gas to get to the next gas station. He also says son people need to gas right now. Just like I need my money right now. I'm going to close my statement with this. Mom is looking good in all her fancy jewelry. USMC60

 

In my opinion it is naive to believe that cash payments do not incur any extra costs. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch ... or "free" cash handling.

Over here in the EU, by the way, the interchange fee has since Dec-2015 been limited to 0.3 percent of the transaction amount for credit cards and 0.2 percent for debit cards. (That applies to "four-party" cards, e.g. Visa, not three-party cards such as Amex.) The result, as expected, is a trend toward somewhat higher annual card fees. Sounds fair to me ...

Christian

 

Sorry, but I'm not seeing that difference in speed. In the self-checkout, it's a LOT faster to stick in a card than to feed in and collect paper money and change. In a cashier line, credit and debit are still fast, but the cashiers trying to figure out change -- heck, trying to count out change once the register tells them how much -- are getting slower and slower.

Checks are still a nuisance, but CC transactions have reached the point where they're fastest, at least around here.

 

chrisild I can only speak for myself. The end of the year I canceled one of my fee credit card. I got charged an annual fee for the use of this card. I've gotten to the point do I say why am I paying this company a feed just to use their card. Basically had a break in it down to where I have just one credit card now. No annual fee for using the card. And as long as I pay the card off when I get the bill, I do not incur a service charge or finance fee.All other times I usually pay cash. Except for my household bills and my one credit card bill I pay by check. I have what is supposedly a free checking account, but the bank makes up for that fee every time I have to get checks.Like you say nothing is free. You gonna pay for in some way. And nowadays you can be quite literally up the creek without a paddle if you don't have at least one credit card. One example go try and rent a car and pay cash. I'm not saying it can't be done. One day in my life unfortunately I could not have any credit cards. Had to get a friend of mine get my airline ticket for me. And even my rental car. Paid him cash to cover his expenses.Understand you travel a lot. Try and purchase your tickets by just going up and paying cash and see what happens. Basically it boils down to big brother wants to know what you're doing and what you're buying. And if you use your plastic they know. Imagine what would happen here and across the pond it people stop using their plastic and only paid cash. The anarchy it would cause within the banking system. Just like now in the retail sales. All the big companies closing stores down due to online shopping. And of course you can put me within that crowd of online shoppers it's more convenient for me than actually going to the store. I'm still waiting for Amazon to drop one of my packages off with a drone in my front yard. LOL But you know people really do not care about the little service charge that they get for the convenience of using their plastic. Unfortunately probably not in my lifetime actual currency is going to be replaced with credit points on a piece of plastic, or by that time just your facial recognition. And it's sad to say right now at least in the US. You are just a number in the system. SSN., Keeping this one short.

 

Well-jeffB I seen the new fancy self checkout stations at the Walmart.I've also seen the manager having to be called over. Because the self check out did not register the correct price for the item the individual was buying. That little incident took well over 15 minutes's for the manager to straighten out. Maybe they just haven't got all the bugs worked out yet. Never use one probably never will. I'm not saying it's not convenient for small purchases. But down here in South Florida, I would say most of the people using that convenience are paying for that convenience in the long run. I'll still take the smile of a cashier, who encounters a problem with an item that is not properly put in the computer when she scans it. I have found they can correct the problem fast and efficient and give you the right price for that item. And you get the opportunity to go through your change and probably find something interesting.

 

Now, that's another issue. Our local Walmart just got busted for inaccurate scans -- they were way over the legal threshold (5% vs 2%). Office Depot got busted for a 16% error rate! But if you aren't paying attention, it's unlikely that the cashier will notice the error either.

I haven't dealt with it at Walmart, but I get inaccurate scans occasionally at Kroger. (It used to be a big problem, but they've cleaned up their act.) At Kroger, if something scans wrong, you get the first one free, and subsequent ones at the correct price. That's saved me quite a bit of money over the years, just from paying attention.

 

The lines at self check out are shorter than the alternative, which is why we always go there. I have a single credit card that does not charge any fees. If they ever started I would be gone in a heart beat! Debit cards can be used in place of credit cards anyway, and many merchants use them as such.

 

Maybe it is just where I live, in an area of the country where it is colder and there are a lot of older residents that are not that much into newfangled hi tech self check outs - they are slower because people manage to find a way to plug them up just about everytime. The worst are men. Men, particularly those middle age on up should be banned from grocery stores. Even very elderly ladies can be faster in the U-scans than middle aged men.

Just sayin...

 

Hey, now.

 

The worst customer to be standing behind in a check out line is (usually) a woman who will be paying with a check. Instead of having it filled out except for the amount, they wait until the amount due is known and then fill in the information. This in itself is enough of a reason to always use self check out.

 

Yes and that was for the small gum balls, not the big quarter sized ones.

 

I haven't written a cheque in years.

 

That makes two of us. Debit card or cash.

 

The last time I used a check here (Germany) was, dunno, some time in the previous millennium. Cash for smaller amounts, plastic or phone here. Self check-out I don't do except when I just need to buy very few items ...

Christian

 

You know the bank gives me a debit card. I cut it up and throw it in the garbage. Gone to the store too many times, to only find out that hey there computers are down. Sorry we cannot do any business. My reply is I'm paying cash, the cashier replies back sorry sir can't do any transaction because the computer is out. My reply back is, what did merchants do prior to the computer age. I believe it's the price of the item plus the tax equals what you owe. Write it down on a pad enter it into the computer when they are up and running again but let the people with cash Pay and go. Tough luck for all others.But unfortunately now. It seems people cannot conduct business unless they have the machine to figure out how to add the tax and what change to give you. Then they say sir the cash register will not open without the computer being on. Even that's not true most registers have a release button to open the drawer. And I found even most managers don't even know about that release lever. I guess for security reasons it's a good idea not to let the employees know but manager should know how to unlock the drawer. That's why still like the little mom and pop stores, that basically only accept cash. They can still conduct business under candlelight when there is no power to the ((machines)).USMC60

 

You know, I can't remember the last time I was in a store and couldn't check out because "the computer is down". One or more individual checkout stations are sometimes down (especially with the stores that can't seem to do maintenance on the self-checkouts [*cough* Harris Teeter]), but at least our permanently-installed infrastructure has gotten pretty reliable around here.

Those little card readers that plug into your phone? Yeah, they've still got a ways to go. But I'm just as happy for them to fail-dead ("not sure everything's OK, so we won't let them charge your card") instead of fail-deferred ("not sure everything's OK, but we'll go ahead and process the charge; maybe you'll get a bogus charge, maybe the merchant will get stuck with a chargeback, but at least somebody's gotten to walk off with goodies").