Justice Department To Weigh In On Merchant Fees

Here we go again.  It is bad enough that retailers try to regulate merchant fees every time anything even vaguely related comes up in Congress.   Now the Justice Department is set to rule on an anti-trust probe that could prevent credit card processors from forbidding merchants from charging fees to consumers whenever they use their credit cards.

Where Does It End?

Merchants are already able to offer cash discounts, however very few do.    So the issue is really whether or not merchants can advertise and label their products with one price, and then charge a separate, higher price, depending on your method of payment.   Perhaps, some merchants will disclose this in the small print of their ads, but many won’t.   Perhaps some restaurants might reference this policy on their menu, but others won’t.    In the end, you really won’t have much of an idea how much something costs until you get the bill or the receipt.   Call me crazy, but I like to know the price before I commit to a purchase.

Yes, credit cards do cost merchants in the form of credit card fees.   Some would argue they have the right to recover these costs.   If that is the case, what is to stop them from adding an additional fee for paying with cash?    There can be no denying that accepting cash has it’s own costs.   There is the cash register for one, followed by all of the labor required to accept, count, and transport cash.   There are losses when employees or burglars steal cash.  In fact, it is debatable whether or not the total expenses for accepting cash are less expensive than accepting credit cards.  The same argument can be made for other forms of payment such as checks, money orders, and debit cards.   It is no wonder than that almost all merchants choose to accept credit cards despite the merchant fees.

Why Is The Justice Department Involved?

Frankly, this seems like the perfect place for the courts to stay out of.   The legislature periodically debates such restrictions, and thankfully has rejected them up until now.   This being hardly a civil rights issue, I really don’t see why we should look to the courts to overturn the decision of the people’s elected representatives.