Straw Poll: How Many of You Have a Credit Card that Doesn't Charge Foreign Transaction Fee in the US? (live in) - Canada - City-Data Forum

stufried · 12-19-2013, 08:08 PM

I have a friend who runs a U.S. gas station half a kilometer from the Canadian border. He makes a mint but has a ton of competitors. Everyone there already caters extensively to Canadians. They already post prices by the liter and in US/Canadian dollars.

He is thinking of jumping through the extra hoops to be able to process Canadian credit cards using a Canadian merchant processor so thinking that it will get him even more business than his competitors. To pull this off will be a ton of work and an accounting nightmare.

I know that many Canadians already have U.S. dollar accounts and U.S. dollar credit card accounts to avoid worrying about this. I've seen the ads for these products at BMO and TD. I'm just trying to figure out whether this is a niche product or something that the majority of people have.

Because of this, I've posted a straw poll. I'm not sure if the results will be public, but if they aren't I'll post them when it closes.

Stu

PS: Before anyone says it, his pumps don't make you use a zip code for credit card verification.

Takkarr · 12-22-2013, 08:59 PM

Only few gas stations ask for your "zip code" for customers protection - when asked simply say 'I live in Canada' and then they will process it still inside.

In NJ and OR all gas stations are full-service by law

Natnasci · 12-23-2013, 11:03 AM

Do his pumps take debit cards? I know Canadian debit cards are hit and miss in the US but I would think that his Canadian customers would of taken the credit card foreign transaction fee into account by either finding a credit card that doesn't charge it OR getting a Visa debit card, like the CIBC offers and use that. Has he done a poll on his Canadian customers???
Note:

If you do encounter gas stations in the US that ask for your " zip code " when using a Canadian Credit card, the way around it is to use your postal code by removing the alpha characters and use a 5 instead. It has worked every time for me and as recently as two weeks ago in Hawaii.

stufried · 12-23-2013, 04:56 PM

Natnasci,

Ok. Presume my postal code is V6B 2E2. My "zip code" would then be 565252. That would be one digit too many.

Natnasci · 12-27-2013, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stufried

Natnasci,

Ok. Presume my postal code is V6B 2E2. My "zip code" would then be 565252. That would be one digit too many.

My error, I should of said remove the first alpha character and replace the rest with 5, so yours would be 65262.
It many also depend on which credit card company you are with. Mastercard ( I didn't even know they were still around ) says to use zeros at the end, so yours would be 62200.

Try it and see. Again it may not work in all stations, but I have more success than not.