4 ms·

Thanks for pointing me to the name. These things are gross, and we need to get rid of them ASAP. The whole spirit of market capitalism is "players are allowed

Thanks for pointing me to the name. These things are gross, and we need to get rid of them ASAP. The whole spirit of market capitalism is "players are allowed to be relentlessly self-interested but we rely on competition to keep them in check." MFCs clearly undermine competition and therefore undermine the very foundation of our economy.

aidenn0 5y ago
They exist on the other side of too: Discover typically charges the merchant lower fees than AmEx does when you checkout at a retailer. However the merchant is forbidden by it's agreements with AmEx (and Visa, and Mastercard) from giving you a discount if you use Discover card.
- jjoonathan 5y ago
  You'll never guess what I think about credit card interchange fees and the contracts that prevent these prices from being exposed to the customers who could force Visa, Mastercard, and Discover to actually compete on price.
- jessaustin 5y ago
  This should also be illegal, but one wouldn't expect much movement on this issue during the presidency of "the senator from MBNA".
- listenallyall 5y ago
  You could word this as "AmEx protects its customers by ensuring stores cannot tack on an AmEx surcharge" and it would be exactly as true as the way you stated it. Two sides to every story, and all that.
  - aidenn0 5y ago
    Except cardholders are not the same thing as customers. AmEx makes most of its money from merchants not cardholders. AmEx attracts cardholders with low fees and perks, and leverages the resultant large base of cardholders to force its customers (the merchants) to pay higher transaction fees.
    - ceejayoz 5y ago
      Low fees? Amex? They do make about half their revenue off swipes, but I wouldn't describe Amex as low fee to cardholders. Their flagship card has an annual fee of $695.
      - aidenn0 5y ago
        That's relatively low fee for a membership-perks charge card. They also offer zero annual fee credit cards.
        ceejayoz 5y ago
        Pretty much every lender offers some zero-fee cards, and Amex is pretty unusual in having charge cards at all. Amex relies more heavily on annual fees than their competitors in the space - Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Capital One... What lender are you thinking of that makes Amex look low-fee?
        aidenn0 5y ago
        Diners club used to be more. They got sold for parts though
    - listenallyall 5y ago
      If the deal is so awful for the merchants, they can choose not to accept AmEx cards at all. Nobody is "forced." Costco switched to Visa.

aidenn0 5y ago

They exist on the other side of too: Discover typically charges the merchant lower fees than AmEx does when you checkout at a retailer. However the merchant is forbidden by it's agreements with AmEx (and Visa, and Mastercard) from giving you a discount if you use Discover card.

jjoonathan 5y ago
You'll never guess what I think about credit card interchange fees and the contracts that prevent these prices from being exposed to the customers who could force Visa, Mastercard, and Discover to actually compete on price.
jessaustin 5y ago
This should also be illegal, but one wouldn't expect much movement on this issue during the presidency of "the senator from MBNA".
listenallyall 5y ago
You could word this as "AmEx protects its customers by ensuring stores cannot tack on an AmEx surcharge" and it would be exactly as true as the way you stated it. Two sides to every story, and all that.
- aidenn0 5y ago
  Except cardholders are not the same thing as customers. AmEx makes most of its money from merchants not cardholders. AmEx attracts cardholders with low fees and perks, and leverages the resultant large base of cardholders to force its customers (the merchants) to pay higher transaction fees.
  - ceejayoz 5y ago
    Low fees? Amex? They do make about half their revenue off swipes, but I wouldn't describe Amex as low fee to cardholders. Their flagship card has an annual fee of $695.
    - aidenn0 5y ago
      That's relatively low fee for a membership-perks charge card. They also offer zero annual fee credit cards.
      - ceejayoz 5y ago
        Pretty much every lender offers some zero-fee cards, and Amex is pretty unusual in having charge cards at all. Amex relies more heavily on annual fees than their competitors in the space - Chase, Citi, Wells Fargo, Capital One... What lender are you thinking of that makes Amex look low-fee?
        aidenn0 5y ago
        Diners club used to be more. They got sold for parts though
  - listenallyall 5y ago
    If the deal is so awful for the merchants, they can choose not to accept AmEx cards at all. Nobody is "forced." Costco switched to Visa.