Minimum Spend on Debit Card

Smoked Tuna

I am suprised in this day and age that there is still a €5 or €10 minimum spend in many places.

I went to buy a coffee in a large coffee shop at a Dublin City Centre railway station and was told the minimum spend is €5.

I will think twice before going back. We are moving towards a cashless society I thought.

Surely their profit margin is not so low that the card fee would wipe it off?

3DataModem

Smoked Tuna wrote: »

I am suprised in this day and age that there is still a €5 or €10 minimum spend in many places.

I went to buy a coffee in a large coffee shop at a Dublin City Centre railway station and was told the minimum spend is €5.

I will think twice before going back. We are moving towards a cashless society I thought.

Surely their profit margin is not so low that the card fee would wipe it off?

It shouldn't be. Especially if they take contactless which is cheaper.

fits

I dont think it is legat to have minimum spends.

allthedoyles

This annoys me too . Most shops around here have minimum 5 and even 10e.
One shop does not have minimum but charges 20c for transaction under a fiver.

Davidth88

This is basically because the banks are totally riding the business and charging a fee for every transaction. It should also be noted that a lot of banks also rip off the consumer by charging them a fee for using a card too.... banks charging bothways SHOCKER. Don't blame the small business blame the greedy banks.

CiniO

Agree...
It's the bank's fault - not small businesses.

Also moving towards cashless society is very silly idea...
If it ever happens, we are completly screwed, and fully dependant on big banks and corporations.

Hope it will never happen.

JTMan

The cost to retailers for taking cards has significantly decline in recent years thanks to EU laws which cap charges.

fits wrote: »

I dont think it is legat to have minimum spends.

Credit card surcharges are illegal unless directly linked to costs but minimums are not illegal. It has been proposed to make minimums illegal, hopefully it eventually happens.

The costs of cash often exceeds the cost of cards for businesses. Minimums are less prevalent that they once were and hopefully minimums will eventually disappear.

Arbie

Minimum spend is not illegal but it is against the both Visa and Mastercard policy and technically against the contract the shop has signed. You can submit a complaint to the card companies. You can also let BPFI know (http://www.bpfi.ie/) but they don't have any powers to intervene.

Shops are allowed to charge a fee for transactions below a certain amount (e.g. 25c charge for transactions below €5) as long as a notice of the surcharge is clearly displayed.

Walter2016

Davidth88 wrote: »

This is basically because the banks are totally riding the business and charging a fee for every transaction. It should also be noted that a lot of banks also rip off the consumer by charging them a fee for using a card too.... banks charging bothways SHOCKER. Don't blame the small business blame the greedy banks.

I've a business. Smallish. I'm charged 45c for every €100 cash lodged.
I'm charged 0.4% for all debit card transactions and 0.7% for credit cards.

I LOVE when customers pay by card. Its in my account the following morning at 9am and I don't need to count it or travel to the bank to lodge it.

Problem is some retailers don't realise that after budget 2015, charges for debit/credit card processing by banks were forcibly reduced by Michael Noonan, so now taking cards is as cheap as taking cash and a lot less hassle.

ted1

CiniO wrote: »

Agree...
It's the bank's fault - not small businesses.

Also moving towards cashless society is very silly idea...
If it ever happens, we are completly screwed, and fully dependant on big banks and corporations.

Hope it will never happen.

More importantly if the network is down you are poor

adam88

Walter2016 wrote: »

I've a business. Smallish. I'm charged 45c for every €100 cash lodged.
I'm charged 0.4% for all debit card transactions and 0.7% for credit cards.

I LOVE when customers pay by card. Its in my account the following morning at 9am and I don't need to count it or travel to the bank to lodge it.

Problem is some retailers don't realise that after budget 2015, charges for debit/credit card processing by banks were forcibly reduced by Michael Noonan, so now taking cards is as cheap as taking cash and a lot less hassle.

Plus when they ask for cash back your saving again and reducing the amount of cash you have to handle

endacl

fits wrote: »

I dont think it is legat to have minimum spends.

Portmanteau of legal and legit?

_Brian

TBH I've stopped paying this minimum spend or the extra charge rubbish.
Just walk out and leave the goods on the counter. Left two lattes on counter last week over it.

Had €7.80 in petrol on a drum one day and local station said there would be a €0.50 charge as it was under €10, I refused to pay or buy chocolate as the lady suggested. "Where do I leave the petrol back" I asked and she just looked at me, she went and got the supervisor who put the transaction through for €7.80.

There is no way this is needed and they are just pushing up sales or charging unjust charges on customers.

K.Flyer

CiniO wrote: »

Agree...
It's the bank's fault - not small businesses.

Also moving towards cashless society is very silly idea...
If it ever happens, we are completly screwed, and fully dependant on big banks and corporations.

Hope it will never happen.

Cashless society has been in planning for decades, from the 70s, and most developed countries governments are slowly inching us towards it.
I remember reading a book in the early eighties outlining the strategies being put in place to slowly remove cash from society and that EFTs would allow the departments of finance in those countries to be able to keep full tabs on people's incomes vs. their lifestyles.
I clearly remember handing the book back to the elderly man who gave it to me to read and saying ".. yeah right, it'll never happen" .
He worked for one of the countries biggest electronics firms at the time and with a wry smile said something about them already working on the technology for it.
And, as they say, they rest is history.

Nervous Wreck

Davidth88 wrote: »

This is basically because the banks are totally riding the business and charging a fee for every transaction. It should also be noted that a lot of banks also rip off the consumer by charging them a fee for using a card too.... banks charging bothways SHOCKER. Don't blame the small business blame the greedy banks.

Bananas to think banks should offer their services for free tbh.

BuffyBot

K.Flyer wrote: »

Cashless society has been in planning for decades, from the 70s, and most developed countries governments are slowly inching us towards it.
I remember reading a book in the early eighties outlining the strategies being put in place to slowly remove cash from society and that EFTs would allow the departments of finance in those countries to be able to keep full tabs on people's incomes vs. their lifestyles.
I clearly remember handing the book back to the elderly man who gave it to me to read and saying ".. yeah right, it'll never happen" .
He worked for one of the countries biggest electronics firms at the time and with a wry smile said something about them already working on the technology for it.
And, as they say, they rest is history.

Conspiracy forum

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K.Flyer

BuffyBot wrote: »

Conspiracy forum

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>>>

Maybe 20 years ago, or even 10 years ago that may have been an appropriate reply.
As I said in my post

K.Flyer wrote: »

I clearly remember handing the book back to the elderly man who gave it to me to read and saying ".. yeah right, it'll never happen" .

But given that banks are now reducing their counter service to a minimum and that most people receive their income by EFT and spend most of it the same way by using a card of some sort, or their phone!! I think the (conspiracy) theory is slowly becoming more of a reality.
And to be honest it suits me better, I spend a fraction of the time now going and standing in the bank to lodge cheques and cash, most of my payments received from customers are by EFT direct to our account.

ROVER

My local convenience store encourages the use of debit cards with no minimum spend. They also allow cash back up to a hundred. I can pick up a litre of milk and get hundred back in cash saves me on ATM costs. There have been a lot of robberies of local convenience stores of late by allowing the use of debit cards and cash back they are banking cash throughout the day keeping cash levels low which reduces Insurance premiums.