Cash in store or mini-fee: Payment by card, but only 10 francs – is it legal?

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Honoring good old money. But the Swiss are increasingly paying with cards or mobile phones. This does not apply to all shopkeepers. In some restaurants and many small businesses, card payment is only possible from 10 or 15 francs.

Are providers allowed to set such lower limits? “It’s not illegal for retailers to only accept card payments over a certain amount. You are not violating any law, regulation, or decision of an authority like ComCo,” says Olivier Schaller, 57, Vice-President of the Competition Commission (Comco). However, doing so would potentially violate the agreements they have with payment service providers for card acceptance. “This could have consequences such as a contractual penalty or termination of the contract.” Customers are not affected by this for now.

Not interesting for shops

Payment service providers either charge a fixed percentage (for example, 1.5 percent per transaction). It doesn’t matter what the purchase amount is. Or a flat price per purchase – usually 50 cents. Conclusion: If a customer buys something for 2.50 francs, it carries much more weight for the shop operator than if he buys something for 50 francs. And accordingly it is not interesting for a business.

For this reason, more and more stores are charging transaction fees for small amounts. This is illustrated by a small cheese shop in the Zurich area that charges 50 cents for card payments under 10 francs. This can be seen by the customer on a sign at the payment terminal. “It’s important that the rules of the game are clear to consumers,” says Schaller.

The owner of a tea shop tells Blick that many customers are unaware that vendors sometimes charge a lot when small sums are paid with cards or Twint. “On the contrary, they think they are doing us a favor by paying digitally.”

Ralf Beyeler (44) from the Moneyland comparison service knows: “There are often provisions in the contracts between stores and payment service providers that credit cards must always be accepted.” Small shops struggle with card payments due to fees. “A shop was paying the Maestro 30 cents per transaction. Today, wages are usually taken as a percentage.” This gives.

Meanwhile, the federal law on currency and means of payment has a clear obligation to accept cash: “Swiss banknotes must be accepted by all without restrictions.” However, there are no sanctions for violations. Stores are allowed to decide for themselves what currency to accept. You just have to make it transparent to customers. For example, with a sign on the cash register.

* Name known to editors

Source :Blick