Credit card surcharges with no alternative payment option?

[madrooster]

Well here’s another one I came across today. My local Thai restaurant has no credit card surcharge, but you get a 5% discount if you pay cash.

Is this a clever way to get around the rules or a scam?

A number of eateries now do this. I've seen this tactic in SYD, MEL, CBR and BNE.

In some ways it would have been nice if govts mandated card-only payment as part of Covid-safe reopening... wishful thinking.

 

[Stealthflyer]

Well here’s another one I came across today. My local Thai restaurant has no credit card surcharge, but you get a 5% discount if you pay cash.

Is this a clever way to get around the rules or a scam?

the Vietnamese restaurant I went to tonight had a 2.5% surcharge for credit cards, a 1% charge for debit cards, and a 2% discount for cash.

 

[VPS]

I got all excited when my new strata fees could be paid for with Amex but you have to join DEFT and the surcharge for Amex is 3.3% - no thanks

 

[Mr_Orange]

Has anyone come across the "international transaction fee for goods or services paid for in AUD".

The bloody banks have got this stitched up because they say the payment processor is overseas and so the 2% or 3% international fee applies. I recently wrote a complaint to HSBC about this and copied it to the RBA and QLD Fair Trading.

The point is that a consumer has absolutely no way of knowing where on earth their payment is going to be processed and when being invoiced in AUD and subsequently paying in AUD, there should be no further charges from anyone.

 

[NM]

Has anyone come across the "international transaction fee for goods or services paid for in AUD".

The bloody banks have got this stitched up because they say the payment processor is overseas and so the 2% or 3% international fee applies. I recently wrote a complaint to HSBC about this and copied it to the RBA and QLD Fair Trading.

The point is that a consumer has absolutely no way of knowing where on earth their payment is going to be processed and when being invoiced in AUD and subsequently paying in AUD, there should be no further charges from anyone.

As has been noted elsewhere, the surcharge is related to where the transaction takes place, not the currency used in the transaction. So you sometimes have to do some homework to determine where the transaction will be enacted. Buying on-line, this is not always clear, but can generally be determined between "In Australia" and "Outside Australia".

I normally use the fact that a web site offers currencies other than AUD (i.e. select your preferred currency) as a red flag warning that the transaction will be processed off-shore and incur a foreign currency transaction fee. So at that point I normally select USD and use my 28 Degrees MC as that generally results in the lowest overall cost, albeit with no points earning of any type.

 

[Daver6]

Has anyone come across the "international transaction fee for goods or services paid for in AUD".

The bloody banks have got this stitched up because they say the payment processor is overseas and so the 2% or 3% international fee applies. I recently wrote a complaint to HSBC about this and copied it to the RBA and QLD Fair Trading.

The point is that a consumer has absolutely no way of knowing where on earth their payment is going to be processed and when being invoiced in AUD and subsequently paying in AUD, there should be no further charges from anyone.

Someone started a thread on this. I've also had this experience myself. I complained to my card company and as a gesture of goodwill they refunded the fee for that transaction.

I agree with you. It's a scam. The consumer has no way of knowing ahead of time.

 

[dajop]

The Good Guys used to advertise less for cash!!!

Well, that might have even been before credit card surcharging was a thing. Not sure, maybe not. But anyway, on multiple occasions we attempted and secured the same price paying by credit card as cash. By cash what I think they really meant was "less for paying now" as opposed to putting it on store credit, often with interest free terms and hideous penalties for missing payments.

 

[Brissy1]

the Vietnamese restaurant I went to tonight had a 2.5% surcharge for credit cards, a 1% charge for debit cards, and a 2% discount for cash.

The cash society tax avoidance I think. I pay by card, I don't pay cash to tradies.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Has anyone come across the "international transaction fee for goods or services paid for in AUD".

The bloody banks have got this stitched up because they say the payment processor is overseas and so the 2% or 3% international fee applies. I recently wrote a complaint to HSBC about this and copied it to the RBA and QLD Fair Trading.

The point is that a consumer has absolutely no way of knowing where on earth their payment is going to be processed and when being invoiced in AUD and subsequently paying in AUD, there should be no further charges from anyone.

This happened to me - I'm ok to name and shame - Mighty Ape (apparently in NZ). I think I was on a price match, so with the credit card surcharge it went back to over the competitor price. I can't remember whether Mighty Ape refunded an amount equal to the surcharge.

But nonetheless I didn't use them for another transaction.

 

[Jacques Vert]

I got all excited when my new strata fees could be paid for with Amex but you have to join DEFT and the surcharge for Amex is 3.3% - no thanks

If you have an ABN you could use CreditRewards.com.au at 1.81% + $1

 

[MikeG]

I'd say that I thought it was illegal and that if they proceeded to charge me I would report them.

This would be a valid chargeback situation. (for partial chargeback)

 

[VPS]

If you have an ABN you could use CreditRewards.com.au at 1.81% + $1

Thanks - I do have an ABN - I will check it out

 

[Mr_Orange]

I complained to my card company and as a gesture of goodwill they refunded the fee for that transaction.

That is the outcome I have got but they completely missed the point really. They claim that consumer's should check first. When I actually have spoken to a business (online obviously) about this they had NFI what I was talking about. Make sense really since wny on earth should customer support know the ins and outs of where the finance department chooses to manage its payments.

Needless to say, I am going to persevere with HSBC until they get the message and may well follow up with a formal letter to the RBA.