4 ms·

Here in France it's often hard to pay for anything under 15 or sometimes 30 € with a payment card. Big chains and supermarkets often have a very low minimum (th

Here in France it's often hard to pay for anything under 15 or sometimes 30 € with a payment card. Big chains and supermarkets often have a very low minimum (think 0.50 €) but smaller shops have no problem indicating you the closest ATM. To the point where the second phrase you say in a shop is often "C'est quoi le minimum pour la carte ?". And yes for Internet cafés. Absurdity.

mikeash 15y ago
I believe that credit card merchant agreements in the US prohibit any minimum amount for card purchases. You can occasionally find places that do it, but they're breaking their agreement and risk punishment for doing so, so it's rare.
- apu 15y ago
  In big cities in the US it's very common for many businesses to either have a minimum for card purchases, or charge extra for small purchases, or offer "cash discounts" -- regardless of what the actual law is.
  - cdr 15y ago
    It's not law (though there may be state/local laws also), it's the merchants' agreements with Visa/MC/Amex/etc. Cash discounts are allowed - you see them with gas stations quite frequently - but minimums and surcharges are disallowed and the merchant will almost certainly get into trouble with the credit issuers if it's reported. It's almost entirely small businesses that try to flout their agreements - you'll rarely see any major business try because of the consequences.
- brigade 15y ago
  The Dodd-Frank Act allows minimum amounts up to $10.
  - mikeash 15y ago
    As in, it requires the credit card issuers to allow merchants to set a minimum up to $10? I hadn't heard about that.
Terretta 15y ago
> Absurdity And for the American credit card carrying traveler, the next most important phrase would be, "Puce ou piste?" Cafés in particular really don't like your card "piste" (magnetic stripe) and often gesture bewilderedly with the wireless card terminal as if to indicate there's no conceivable mécanisme for mating with your filthy swipey card. (There is, as they may eventually concede.)

mikeash 15y ago

I believe that credit card merchant agreements in the US prohibit any minimum amount for card purchases. You can occasionally find places that do it, but they're breaking their agreement and risk punishment for doing so, so it's rare.

apu 15y ago
In big cities in the US it's very common for many businesses to either have a minimum for card purchases, or charge extra for small purchases, or offer "cash discounts" -- regardless of what the actual law is.
- cdr 15y ago
  It's not law (though there may be state/local laws also), it's the merchants' agreements with Visa/MC/Amex/etc. Cash discounts are allowed - you see them with gas stations quite frequently - but minimums and surcharges are disallowed and the merchant will almost certainly get into trouble with the credit issuers if it's reported. It's almost entirely small businesses that try to flout their agreements - you'll rarely see any major business try because of the consequences.
brigade 15y ago
The Dodd-Frank Act allows minimum amounts up to $10.
- mikeash 15y ago
  As in, it requires the credit card issuers to allow merchants to set a minimum up to $10? I hadn't heard about that.

Terretta 15y ago

> Absurdity And for the American credit card carrying traveler, the next most important phrase would be, "Puce ou piste?" Cafés in particular really don't like your card "piste" (magnetic stripe) and often gesture bewilderedly with the wireless card terminal as if to indicate there's no conceivable mécanisme for mating with your filthy swipey card. (There is, as they may eventually concede.)