AMEX not accepted or surcharge

[kito]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

Hi stevePER

Would you mind letting us know which council inlcudes a surcharge on CC payments?

Thanks
Kito

 

[NM]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

Just got our council rates yesterday and we now have a 0.72% surcharge on all credit card payments. Do most councils charge a credit card surcharge?

Steve

Brisbane City Council does not surcharge for credit cards. They provide BPay facility via Visa/MC/BC credit cards, but do not accept Amex or Diners. I always pay via BPay from Visa, scheduled for the payment on the due date.

 

[StevePER]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

Would you mind letting us know which council inlcudes a surcharge on CC payments?

City of Belmont.

 

[oz_mark]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

City of Belmont.

I hope this idea doesn't get across the river, but I fear it might.

 

[coco50]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

[quote=StevePER]City of Belmont.[/quote]

Checked my rate notices last night. Can pay Tweed Shire through Postbillpay on CC witout surcharge. Ballina Shire: no CC payment via Postbillpay or BPay and a 1% surcharge for CC payemnt over the counter or via Bill Express. This amounts to $4 per quarter for me, so I'll pay it although I'm inclined to contribute to clogging their accounts office up by writing a cheque:evil:

 

[StevePER]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

This amounts to $4 per quarter for me, so I'll pay it although I'm inclined to contribute to clogging their accounts office up by writing a cheque:evil:

If it wasn't for their limited office hours, I would love to walk in there with a wad of $5 notes (or maybe even coinage). But I'll have to be settle for sending them a nasty email.

Steve

 

[LenLen]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

Energy Australia initially caught me out with the "no Amex" rule too which irked me greatly because I specifically asked the sales rep if I could pay with Amex, which she told me I could. When I found out I couldn't, I rang the company to complain and they then explained how to do it.

You can pay with Amex if you ask them for a direct debit form. Do a direct debit to your Amex card and then you're paying with Amex. Tada.

Hope that helps!

Is this regarded as a cash advance?

 

[Damien]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

Is this regarded as a cash advance?

No. It's a standard credit purchase.

 

[mbeder]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

Waverley council have provided for payments (rates, parking permits, etc) via credit cards in the past year or two, but it is only when you are about to complete the transaction that you realise that there is a 1.1% surcarge for VC/MC - no AMEX, so I prefer BPay. In contrast, the adjoining Randwick Council allows for fee-free usage of VC/MC.

 

[ethernet]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

Look, happily pay the surcharge, but get the merchant to write 'credit card surcharge' on the docket. Smile sweetly, and tell them some BS like its for 'tax' purposes. When you get back home, get Amex to issue merchant chargebacks on those transactions for those surcharges

Note this may not be good for Australian purchases. However card issuers lug the merchant if they do not quietly 'cop it'. Card Fee article: http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/Bulletin/bu_aug05/bu_0805_2.pdf

I believe my small local bottleshop pays 3.5% vs 7.5% for Amex. The RBA numbers do not reflect mom and pop operations, as the average by Woolies is rate is much less. So if you like your mate at the local, dont use Amex, use cash, especially if he/she is struggling a bit. Ask for a cash discount, as all CC merchants are not allowed to advertise this, or are punished in other ways if they do. Small retailers are hurting, be considerate.

The US AMEX is useful if you get CDW for car insurance. I find many car rental operations illegally link their insurance in with the advertised car hire rate, demanding more, even when you are covered by the card.

 

[one9]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

If it wasn't for their limited office hours, I would love to walk in there with a wad of $5 notes (or maybe even coinage). But I'll have to be settle for sending them a nasty email.

Steve

Ever thought that the council is charging you the credit card fee because you have a choice of whether or not to use credit card or pay by a different method with no fee.

The people who are most likely to pay in cash, are the battlers, who don't have credit cards, and are not good and paying things. So whilst it costs the council to receive cash, they are less likely to pass on a fee because of who pays by cash.

 

[kyle]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

So whilst it costs the council to receive cash, they are less likely to pass on a fee because of who pays by cash.

Call me cynical, but I doubt the council is really that sympathetic to the poor.

Now going a bit OT here, it's funny that the RBA said they "knew" the reforms benefitted consumers, but had no hard data to back it up.

 

[fasteddie]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

Amex charge their Merchant fees on a sliding scale, but they are often more than double what the Banks will charge for Bankcard/Visa/Mastercard. And depending on the industry, this could be up to 10% of the transaction value!

The merchant therefore needs to decide:

1. Absorb the cost as part of the business' overheads. In reality, everybody else that doesn't use Amex is then subsidising the extra Amex take.

2. Pass on some or all of this cost to the Amex Cardholder. The "User pays" principle.

3. Decline to be their merchant. In June 2006 Amex accounted for about 12.7% of Credit card transactions (by value) but the potential loss of market share is less than that because most Cardholders also have at least one of the other more popular Cards (or cash ).
​

Amex' very high fees is the primary reason why it's not well accepted. In a comparison with the Banks, it's not like the Merchant gets anything back in the form of added value or better service.

In fact, for some industries they insist that the Merchant signs an "Extended Recourse Amendment to Agreement" which basically means that if the Cardholder queries the transaction it's automatically charged back (no questions asked) - even if the Merchant has an authorisation number. Definitely more expensive and probably less secure than accepting a cheque.

I've previously run a business and decided on Option 3. Don't blame the merchant; Amex' own policies are the cause of the problem.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

I filled up ata Caltex in Melb this mornning...

There was a sign on all bowsers and the Counter that as of 1 Sep AMEX will be an extra 2.5%

VISA will stay free.

I assume that this will now spread to other majors.

I currently use Caltex for the 4c off supermarket discount.

If Shell do not do likewise I will switch to them and Coles

 

[kyle]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

I thought I saw 2.3% for Amex the other day. Or is it increasing to 2.5% from 1 Sept?

Maybe Amex will do a deal with them just like Telstra.

 

[kelfly]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

I'm a new Amex cardholder. Will the merchants tell me if there is a surcharge to be added?

 

[fasteddie]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

Will the merchants tell me if there is a surcharge to be added?

I'd expect any reputable Merchant would give you the choice. And I'm sure the ACCC would have something to say if the store policy wasn't well signposted.

A surcharge of 2.3% or 2.5% seems to be comparatively low compared to some of the Amex Merchant fees but then the major chains might be doing a bit better than the rest.

If the surcharge is zero on other Cards, it's likely the Retailer is only passing on only the difference in the Merchant fees, not the full fee.

 

[one9]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

I'd expect any reputable Merchant would give you the choice. And I'm sure the ACCC would have something to say if the store policy wasn't well signposted.

A surcharge of 2.3% or 2.5% seems to be comparatively low compared to some of the Amex Merchant fees but then the major chains might be doing a bit better than the rest.

If the surcharge is zero on other Cards, it's likely the Retailer is only passing on only the difference in the Merchant fees, not the full fee.

The business I work for gets charged 0.8% for accepting Visa/Mastercard and 2.7% for Amex. We don't charge any surcharge for Visa/Mastercard and we charge 3% for Amex.

Amex is high for everyone. Large retailers get a bit of a discount, but not that much. I would expect 2.5% is what the service station gets charged.

The reason that our business surcharges Amex is not just because of the high merchant fee, but also because of the extra hassle with Amex. Amex is unfriendly from a merchant perspective and they often make things difficult. For example with Visa/Mastercard, the merchant gets the total amount of sales each night. Then once a month, the merchant receives a bill for the merchant fee. With Amex, they take away the merchant fee from each transaction before paying the merchant. Thus it adds to the work of the merchant in balancing, reconciling and verifying the payments. Also I believe for some industries Amex don't pay each night. They keep the funds for a few days before making payment. Stuff like this makes many merchants want to add a surcharge to encourage people to pay by other methods.

Amex is great for the cardholder and cough for the merchant.

 

[JohnK]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

I filled up ata Caltex in Melb this mornning...

There was a sign on all bowsers and the Counter that as of 1 Sep AMEX will be an extra 2.5%

There are 3 types of Caltex service stations. Caltex (no association with Woolworths), Caltex Woolworths and Woolworths Caltex.

Is this a Caltex Woolworths service station? These are original Caltex sites that have a deal with Woolworths for fuel discounts but are not operated by Woolworths. Caltex chooses to pass on the credit card surcharge.

There are also Woolworths Caltex service stations which are operated by Woolworths and have nothing to do with Caltex other than using their fuel. I would not expect that Woolworths would introduce a credit card surcharge in the near future.

I would recommend finding a Woolworths Caltex service station near you. Caltex - Find a service station

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Re: AMEX not accepted or surchage

The station in question is a one that was originally a Caltex Station, but which has now been branded as safeways (being in Vic they use Safeways rtaher than Woolworths).

I also did some nortmal shopping in the Safeways Supermarket last night and there was no sign of any new surchage signs.

Thanks for that tip John...on the differences. I will have a look. However as I live and drive in the inner suburbs I think I may be in trouble as I think all the ""Woolworths" station that I drive past were originally Clatex stations.

Did they buy any out...or just build new ones at Supermarket sites???