[Monkeydad]

Speaking from the accounting/bookkeeping side of the issue...merchant services fees are becoming ridiculous. For a small business, it's tempting to forget the high monthly fees and just not accept cards, but a business can not survive like that any more. It's expected that you take plastic. I have seen smaller transactions where as much as a quarter of the funds taken in are immediately gone for merchant fees, it all depends on the fee structure in the business' contract. Credit Card Merchant fees are beginning to place a burden on smaller businesses and nonprofits who want to accept credit cards.

Plus on top of the c/c merchant fees, if the business wants to accept American Express, they're forced to sign an additional merchant services contract with AMEX Merchant Services, as they are seperate from VISA/MasterCard/Discover and make you pay extra on top of your other merchant fees. This is why many businesses do not accept AMEX...they can't afford to.

So, as for this fee, it's going to be a choice between raising their prices on EVERYONE, or just add on a share of the merchant fee to those using that service. Honestly, I prefer the fee for C/C users, instead of being penalized when not even using a card and paying cash.