3 ms·

Not only is that not true, it's against the terms of service of credit card companies for a business to do that. You might only see them in gas stations, but i

Not only is that not true, it's against the terms of service of credit card companies for a business to do that. You might only see them in gas stations, but it is much more likely that those are the local businesses you go to the most, since those are the ones working around the credit card merchant contracts.

arcticbull 6y ago
No, it’s not. It is not against the terms and conditions of any credit card network in the US for a merchant to offer a cash discount. Terms of service which prohibit that are illegal under 15 USC 1666f [1]. This changed a number of years ago (more than 5 but less than 10, I don’t recall which year, but I was working in the payments space at the time [edit it was the FBCA in 2013]). For what it’s worth I believe cash discounts have never been against terms of service, specifically what was, were credit card surcharges, minimum transaction sizes and various other forms of discrimination against credit. [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1666f https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1666f
- colejohnson66 6y ago
  So they can’t have a surcharge, but they can just raise everything 10¢/gal then “discount” cash purchases. It’s the same thing, so why is one illegal but not the other? Not to mention that many government services charge an outrageously large “processing fee” (in the multiple dollar amount) for card purchases. They literally would rather I write them a check and go in person than just go online and use a card. How does that work with the law you cited?
  - arcticbull 6y ago
    > So they can’t have a surcharge, but they can just raise everything 10¢/gal then “discount” cash purchases. It’s the same thing, so why is one illegal but not the other? That was the case prior to 1666f. Now, both "credit surcharges" and "cash discounts" are permitted. It was just a perspective thing, card brands didn't want to have cards feel "disadvantaged" relative to cash. Instead they had cash "advantaged" related to credit. It was never illegal to do either, this change just rendered terms of service which included them unenforceable.
    - colejohnson66 6y ago
      Ah. I misread you. I thought you were saying card “discounts” were illegal, not that TOS against those kinds of clauses were illegal.

arcticbull 6y ago

No, it’s not. It is not against the terms and conditions of any credit card network in the US for a merchant to offer a cash discount. Terms of service which prohibit that are illegal under 15 USC 1666f [1]. This changed a number of years ago (more than 5 but less than 10, I don’t recall which year, but I was working in the payments space at the time [edit it was the FBCA in 2013]). For what it’s worth I believe cash discounts have never been against terms of service, specifically what was, were credit card surcharges, minimum transaction sizes and various other forms of discrimination against credit. [1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1666f https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1666f

colejohnson66 6y ago
So they can’t have a surcharge, but they can just raise everything 10¢/gal then “discount” cash purchases. It’s the same thing, so why is one illegal but not the other? Not to mention that many government services charge an outrageously large “processing fee” (in the multiple dollar amount) for card purchases. They literally would rather I write them a check and go in person than just go online and use a card. How does that work with the law you cited?
- arcticbull 6y ago
  > So they can’t have a surcharge, but they can just raise everything 10¢/gal then “discount” cash purchases. It’s the same thing, so why is one illegal but not the other? That was the case prior to 1666f. Now, both "credit surcharges" and "cash discounts" are permitted. It was just a perspective thing, card brands didn't want to have cards feel "disadvantaged" relative to cash. Instead they had cash "advantaged" related to credit. It was never illegal to do either, this change just rendered terms of service which included them unenforceable.
  - colejohnson66 6y ago
    Ah. I misread you. I thought you were saying card “discounts” were illegal, not that TOS against those kinds of clauses were illegal.