Paying By Credit Card At the Gas Pump and Refusing To Use Cash
Published 6/25/08 (Modified 3/9/11)By MoneyBlueBook
Oh great - well I hope this articledoesn't foretell or signify a trend that's going to be widely picked up by the gas industry in the coming future. While they've been one of the most credit card friendly industries in the past, some gas station chains are apparently starting to scale back their payment options in favor of cash due to diminishing profit margins caused by higher gas prices and rising credit card interchange fees. The credit card interchange fee, a percentage of the total sales price paid to credit card companies by the merchant on every transaction, is usually fixed at somewhere just under 2% - but the dollar amount of the fee rises with the price of the goods or services. As gas prices have risen dramatically, so have the credit card acceptance fees that gas pump merchants pay, drastically cutting into their profitability.
I Always Use My Credit Card To Pay For Gas And Don't Intend To Change This Payment Practice Anytime Soon
While I understand why some gas station owners and advocates are pushing for the move back to cash payment only for gas purchases, I hope this is not an emerging or widely adopted trend. Paying cash at the pump may work for some, but it's not going to fly for me.
I take frequent road trips and one of the most appreciated benefits of fueling at the gas pump is the ability to easily slide into a gas station off the freeway, punch in my prepayment, fuel up,
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