Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
There's a difference between a credit card and a charge card. A charge card is readily identifiable because it has no logo for VISA or MasterCard (or any other banking entity). Examples of a charge cards would be JC Penny Card, Sears Card, Kohl's Card or any card issued by merchant, including oil companies (that does not have a VISA or MasterCard logo). A charge card is a two-way relationship between you and the merchant. Buying on credit is something people have done for thousands of years. What's different now is the fees that were added in the 1950s and then later the fees were dropped and interest was charged.
A credit card is a three-way relationship between you, the card issuer and the bank. With a charge card, it is the merchant who takes the risk, but with a credit card, it is the card issuer who takes the risk, since the card issuer guarantees payment to the merchant. The processing of credit card transactions does not occur in a vacuum. A merchant can either hire an army of clerks and data entry operators to process the the thousands of transactions through hundreds of card issuers, and pass those costs onto to you, or the card issuing banks can hire an army of personnel to process the transactions, or VISA/MasterCard can hire fewer employees to process all of the transactions (which is the way it works).
A business is charged a fee to use VISA/MasterCard based on the volume of transactions. The greater the number of transactions, the lower the fee. Discover and American Express also charge fees that are higher than VISA/MasterCard, which is why you often see merchants accepting VISA/MasterCard, but not Discover/American Express.
So, your claim that it will lead to lawsuits from the credit card banks is absurd, since it the banks who impose the fees on merchants the first place. The merchants can either eat the fees or pass them onto consumers.
and that is fine, but people use credit(or debit) much more often nowadays to purchase groceries, fuel, fast food, etc. items that we prepare for in our budget and used to pay in cash. these are also the places that credit card companies are making a killing. once they convinced people that it was necessary to save your time by using your visa or mastercard to make all of your purchases rather than carrying cash(or check) they dramatically changed the dynamic of their industry because it forced industries that used to be primary cash based to convert to credit. thus the explosion in credit card company profits and the high desire(and success) of credit card IPOs.
they have been marketted as something necessary to function in everyday life when most people dont/shouldnt need to use them often. national retailers that would fight against that status quo(by tiered pricing or cash/check only) would be putting themselves in the crosshairs for doing so, much like campaigns from companies and politicians to promote alternative energy sources are targetted by big oil and anti-smoking campaigns are targetted by tobacco cos.
Credit bid up prices on everything, because the funny money artificially expands the monetary base. If people were to use cash on a more regular basis, costs of furniture, gas, etc would be lower.
There's a difference between a credit card and a charge card. A charge card is readily identifiable because it has no logo for VISA or MasterCard (or any other banking entity). Examples of a charge cards would be JC Penny Card, Sears Card, Kohl's Card or any card issued by merchant, including oil companies (that does not have a VISA or MasterCard logo). A charge card is a two-way relationship between you and the merchant. Buying on credit is something people have done for thousands of years. What's different now is the fees that were added in the 1950s and then later the fees were dropped and interest was charged.
A credit card is a three-way relationship between you, the card issuer and the bank. With a charge card, it is the merchant who takes the risk, but with a credit card, it is the card issuer who takes the risk, since the card issuer guarantees payment to the merchant. The processing of credit card transactions does not occur in a vacuum. A merchant can either hire an army of clerks and data entry operators to process the the thousands of transactions through hundreds of card issuers, and pass those costs onto to you, or the card issuing banks can hire an army of personnel to process the transactions, or VISA/MasterCard can hire fewer employees to process all of the transactions (which is the way it works).
A business is charged a fee to use VISA/MasterCard based on the volume of transactions. The greater the number of transactions, the lower the fee. Discover and American Express also charge fees that are higher than VISA/MasterCard, which is why you often see merchants accepting VISA/MasterCard, but not Discover/American Express.
So, your claim that it will lead to lawsuits from the credit card banks is absurd, since it the banks who impose the fees on merchants the first place. The merchants can either eat the fees or pass them onto consumers.
Hmmm so in the case of my Exxon/Mobil card..it's not a Visa/Master but it's owned by Citibank, not Exxon/Mobil, Citibankis one of the biggest card isuers out there
Any consideration that you would like to give to the value that credit card companies provide? Not needing to carry lots of cash on you, less bad-check trouble for merchants and when you go over seas you get the better exchange rate.
In general though, I am going to try to make a more conscious effort to pay cash at some of the mom and pop stores I go to. Thanks for making me think about this topic.
and that is fine, but people use credit(or debit) much more often nowadays to purchase groceries, fuel, fast food, etc. items that we prepare for in our budget and used to pay in cash.
And those transactions do not occur in a vacuum. Cash is from your pocket to the cash register till. A credit/debit transaction is over an electronic infrastructure that must be maintained and operated, and it costs money to do that. It also costs money to maintain and operate the computer software and computer systems, and it costs money to pay the employees to maintain and repair the infrastructure, maintain the software and computer systems, and to pay other employees to process the transactions.
Again, a cash transaction is between you and the clerk, but a credit card transaction involves a dozen other people, and you're effectively saying, "I want your service to assist me but you're not worthy enough to be paid for your time."
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhcompy
they dramatically changed the dynamic of their industry because it forced industries that used to be primary cash based to convert to credit. thus the explosion in credit card company profits and the high desire(and success) of credit card IPOs.
Nobody forced anybody to do anything. There's nothing stopping you and millions of other from cashing your paycheck and carrying around money in your pocket, and nothing to stop you from writing a check in lieu of cash or the use of a credit/debit card.
The explosion in profits is due to the fact that millions of Americans will gladly pay $5,238 for a $3,000 television and see nothing wrong paying $2,238 in interest.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhcompy
they have been marketted as something necessary to function in everyday life when most people dont/shouldnt need to use them often.
Show me the evidence that Agents Provocateur employed by the credit card companies are holding guns to people's heads, or are engaging in blackmail or extortion to force consumers to use credit cards.
Photographs or video of a consumer in a checkout out line at knife-point or gun-point will suffice.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
