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Well the true cost of processing a CC transaction is not near 3% so I wonder who is getting that "extra" money ?
FYI..this site says to put in the first 6 digits of your CC card which I didn't do nor would I recommend it.
They have example cards that you can click on though.
Why not use a debit card though. All from the same account. Your own checking account. Just wondering.
If someone gets your card number and uses it your money is gone if it's a debit card.
With credit card it's a "loan" and your money is not gone and you can get the bill rectified.
With debit you have more headaches because it's your money, not the bank's money and it's already gone and you need to work to get it back.
Now, if it came down to having to use a debit card for whatever reason, I would open another bank account somewhere and put limited funds in it and use the debit card from that account.
I would not use my main bank account where I have my income deposited each month and a much bigger balance.
I would also have no overdraft put on it.
Now, if it came down to having to use a debit card for whatever reason, I would open another bank account somewhere and put limited funds in it and use the debit card from that account.
I would not use my main bank account where I have my income deposited each month and a much bigger balance. I would also have no overdraft put on it.
This is what I did with my PayPal account. The credit card on that account is actually a debit card with a MasterCard symbol on it that links to a secondary checking account, which I keep empty. Whenever I want to buy something with PayPal, I transfer the amount I need into that account, and then buy the item.
It would be easy enough to do something similar when using a debit card for daily purchases.
This is what I did with my PayPal account. The credit card on that account is actually a debit card with a MasterCard symbol on it that links to a secondary checking account, which I keep empty. Whenever I want to buy something with PayPal, I transfer the amount I need into that account, and then buy the item.
It would be easy enough to do something similar when using a debit card for daily purchases.
Thanks. Good to know that I'm not the only one a tad paranoid about using debit cards linked to checking accounts.
Thanks. Good to know that I'm not the only one a tad paranoid about using debit cards linked to checking accounts.
Well, I don't consider myself paranoid, but when it comes to PayPal, which is something that is required for some of the items I want to buy on-line, I would not feel comfortable either giving a debit card to my main checking account or an actual credit card. I figure a card linking to an empty account is about as safe as I can hope to be if someone ever hacks that account.
I also do prefer to use regular credit cards for any on-line purchases. I find that its only really small retailers, such as on etsy or something that require PayPal. For the rest, I want the added protections that credit cards offers.
As for shopping around town in local stores, I do use a debit card linked to my primary checking account. But now that we've had this discussion here, I am considering changing that to using a debit card that links to an account with only a couple of hundred in it at a time, just to be safer.
Well, I don't consider myself paranoid, but when it comes to PayPal, which is something that is required for some of the items I want to buy on-line, I would not feel comfortable either giving a debit card to my main checking account or an actual credit card. I figure a card linking to an empty account is about as safe as I can hope to be if someone ever hacks that account.
I also do prefer to use regular credit cards for any on-line purchases. I find that its only really small retailers, such as on etsy or something that require PayPal. For the rest, I want the added protections that credit cards offers.
As for shopping around town in local stores, I do use a debit card linked to my primary checking account. But now that we've had this discussion here, I am considering changing that to using a debit card that links to an account with only a couple of hundred in it at a time, just to be safer.
I had my debit card on file on paypal once. It got hacked and someone bought a "HOWAR" hat. I got emails galore from the guy who got screwed out of $250. I told the guy I have no clue what you are taking about. I don't even wear hats! It end up being a hat from a computer game. The hat in the game had a octopus on it. Stupid as crap. I ended up getting my money back after a few days though.
As for shopping around town in local stores, I do use a debit card linked to my primary checking account. But now that we've had this discussion here, I am considering changing that to using a debit card that links to an account with only a couple of hundred in it at a time, just to be safer
....yeah, good to know.
Maybe I should go back to writing checks!
(as for the tread header, also good to know. I dont use credit cards that much...actually pretty rare,...but still nice to see that costs are going up if one uses one).
Well the true cost of processing a CC transaction is not near 3% so I wonder who is getting that "extra" money ?
FYI..this site says to put in the first 6 digits of your CC card which I didn't do nor would I recommend it.
They have example cards that you can click on though.
It may be less than 3% for a large business that is able to negotiate much lower processing rates, but for small businesses, it can be much more than 3%. Ours, for instance, is 2.82% PLUS a per-transaction fee, and other additional fees depending upon the card. On a small charge, it can be way up there. Among additional fees are higher fees for cards such as airline mile cards which get hit with a higher processing fee than the 2.82...
I looked up my AA Citibank card and on the mentioned website "The True Cost Of Credit", it shows that the merchant can pay up to 25.1% if I make a small purchase....their example, buying a $1.50 pack of gum at a convenience store with the AA card, it costs the merchant 1.742% processing fee and a .35 per transaction fee, which gives the merchant a .38 cost in processing fees on the $1.50 charge...for a 25.1% cost in this particular transaction...Obviously it would be much less on a big ticket purchase since the per-item fee would be insignificant..
I think whatever merchants wanted to do this have already done it since the rules changed last year to allow cash discounts for cash and lower cost cards. Most businesses will continue to accept the fees themselves to remain competitive.
I think this sums up my biggest issue with charging fees:
Quote:
Edgar Dworsky, founder of ConsumerWorld.org, disputes this assertion. “The big worry, of course, from a consumer perspective is that merchants won’t lower the price of goods which already have the costs of extending credit built into them, but will instead collect another two or three percent from shoppers on top of it,” he says. This could cost Americans $25 billion each year, he asserts.
How do you know if you are actually paying a discounted price or not? I mean, wouldn't retailers have to reprice all items without the 2-3% surcharges baked in, disclose the difference to consumers, and then say that they would start adding checkout surcharges? Otherwise how do you know if you are getting ripped off or not on either end?
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