Are Loves Travel Plazas changing the rules?

[Gsgarland]

We often stop to fuel up in the diesel truck lanes at Loves and pay with our debit card to get the cash price. However, at the Loves in Hardin, MT they refused to give us the cash price saying that the fees on debit cards prevented them to do this now. Anyone else run into this situation? I sent an email to Loves headquarters, but have not received an answer.

[winniman]

I have never heard of paying fees on debit cards. My bank already charges me a monthly fee to have unlimited debit transactions, and pays me diddley squat for interest in my account. I can see a business wanting more for credit card use, as the banks charge them a fee for using them. If the banks start charging businesses for accepting debit cards, they are going to shoot themselves in the foot. They want a cashless society. We will all start carrying cash if they start that kind of stuff. This isn't what they want in the long run. They don't want any cash in the long run. Only 3 percent of money now is cash. 50 years ago it was 28 percent.

[buzz57]

All banks charge merchants a fee for using/accepting debit cards. what changes among them is the percentage they pay. Anywhere from 1 to 4+ percent is what they pay, almost the same as credit cards. We as owners of the card don't pay anything just whoever accepts them!

[xrated]

Originally Posted by buzz57

All banks charge merchants a fee for using/accepting debit cards. what changes among them is the percentage they pay. Anywhere from 1 to 4+ percent is what they pay, almost the same as credit cards. We as owners of the card don't pay anything just whoever accepts them!

Oh, we pay alright, the price of the fees are reflected in the price of the product....you just don't feel like or realize you are paying the fee. That is why many large truck stops and such will have a "cash" price per gallon and a "credit" price per gallon.....or in your case...per liter!

[Spdracr39]

If you are using a card, no matter what type, it is not a cash transaction. Seems pretty black and white to me.

[mobilemike]

Yes the credit card processors charge for using debit cards. There used to be different fees for credit and debit. Then there was different fees for in network/out of network/ cash back/ flight miles etc. It was all so confusing as a vendor you never knew what you were being charged per card until the monthly statement came and then it was always a shock. As a vendor you could hide a % in the charges but some card charges were less than others so some people paid too much and others too little. You never knew at the time of the sale. Also as a vendor you were specifically barred from charging a processing fee on the bottom line at the time of sale.



Then Dodd-Frank change all that.

I have a set fee processing service. Every card is the same fee. And it is legal to charge processing fee.

[WorldCat25]

We were in Indio, CA in January and went to get gas in the toad. Cheapest station had a sign to pay inside. Inside another sign said debit cards or cash only and there was an extra cost tacked on for debit. This was the 1st time I have even paid for gas with a debit card (frankly don't use them except for ATM withdrawals). Just found the receipt and the extra charge was only $0.35.

Arco Station on Grapefruit Blvd in Coachella. Price was $2.799/gal on Jan 29, 2019, which seemed pretty good for CA.

[Woo10-210]

Originally Posted by WorldCat25

We were in Indio, CA in January and went to get gas in the toad. Cheapest station had a sign to pay inside. Inside another sign said debit cards or cash only and there was an extra cost tacked on for debit. This was the 1st time I have even paid for gas with a debit card (frankly don't use them except for ATM withdrawals). Just found the receipt and the extra charge was only $0.35.

Arco Station on Grapefruit Blvd in Coachella. Price was $2.799/gal on Jan 29, 2019, which seemed pretty good for CA.

Arco AM/PM is huge in California and is usually at the lower end of pricing. It's the old Atlantic Richfield Company hence the Arco name. They don't accept credit cards; it's cash or debit only. Debit can be paid at the pump and, as you said, they tack on a $0.35 fee but the pump asks you to accept or not.

Oh, and that $2.79 price has gone up a dollar since then.

[Gordon Dewald]

Originally Posted by spdracr39

If you are using a card, no matter what type, it is not a cash transaction. Seems pretty black and white to me.

I would have to question fees on a debit card. It simply authorizes the immediate transfer of money from your account to the merchants account. There is no credit advanced as with a credit card. If you wrote a cheque on your account it would be fee free in some cases.

[BobGed]

Merchants do pay processing fees on debit cards but they are not as high as credit cards. Debit Card Processing Fees Explained

[egwilly]

Originally Posted by WorldCat25

We were in Indio, CA in January and went to get gas in the toad. Cheapest station had a sign to pay inside. Inside another sign said debit cards or cash only and there was an extra cost tacked on for debit. This was the 1st time I have even paid for gas with a debit card (frankly don't use them except for ATM withdrawals). Just found the receipt and the extra charge was only $0.35.

Arco Station on Grapefruit Blvd in Coachella. Price was $2.799/gal on Jan 29, 2019, which seemed pretty good for CA.

You got a deal....$3.79 now.

[winniman]

Maybe its different in Canada than the US. Here, the banks charge us a transaction fee for using our debit cards. Most people just pay a monthly fee to get unlimited. I pay around $14 Cdn a month for unlimited debit transactions. If they are charging again at the retailer, Im getting double dipped. Or should I say double ripped. They give you basically no interest on your money, then charge you when you use it. What a scam. Banksters for sure.

[Poppy01]

The charge has nothing to do with extending credit. It the fee the processor charges the merchant to process (route) the transaction to your bank and credit the merchant's bank account.

The processors provide a vital link by connecting the merchant and bank
Without the processors, merchants would have to have a different machine for each type of credit card (best case) or bank (worst case). As was explained in an earlier post, before the Frank/Dodd act merchant charges might range from 1-5%, depending on the card and not all merchants were charged the same. Now, those fees are fixed (in the US).

Setting up a financial switch it very expensive and many are 3rd party, not owned by a bank.

[mobilemike]

Originally Posted by winniman

Maybe its different in Canada than the US. Here, the banks charge us a transaction fee for using our debit cards. Most people just pay a monthly fee to get unlimited. I pay around $14 Cdn a month for unlimited debit transactions. If they are charging again at the retailer, Im getting double dipped. Or should I say double ripped. They give you basically no interest on your money, then charge you when you use it. What a scam. Banksters for sure.

Your bank charges you a transaction fee. You need a new bank. The fee at the retailers is a fee charged to them by what ever third party system is used to process your card. The retailer is just passing the fee back to you.



I think it is funny when I hear people say
" The bank gets to use my money for free. Then charge me to to use my own money!"
"There has to be a better way!!!!"


Yeah! Its call cash!!! Cold hard printed on paper CASH!!!

There is no fee to pay me cash. The bank does not charge you for giving me cash. The bank does not have your cash to loan to someone else for a fee.

Many places give you a small discount for paying with cash. You know this. Its well known but many go literally years without having any cash in their wallet.

Yet they complain about banks.