How the card surcharge ban could change our relationship with cash

2 days ago by Orwi to c/australia

Some businesses are offering customer discounts for the use of cash after the Reserve Bank of Australia banned card surcharges. But it's unlikely to return cash to the preferred type of payment.

DoctorWhoDMC 7 points 2 days ago

God I can't stand how much this has been complained about. Commercial news has had a field day spinning this. Banning card surcharges at point of sale I was glad to hear about; I was tired of getting stung for that extra little bit just because I hadn't noticed the little sign or handwritten note on the eftpos machine under a bit of tape that said "1.2% debit card fee" in minuscule writing.

But Christ, do some small businesses love a whinge or what?!

"Oh, there's a new law that says we can't do extra fees at checkout? OH NO, MY CAFE!!!" If not passing on a fee of less than 2% is so crippling, or the choice to simply up your prices by one and a half percent and offer a cash discount is some sort of existential threat, your business's days were probably numbered already.

"Cashless Society" is becoming a bit like the refrain of a Doomsday Cult who have to keep moving the prophesied date of the Apocalypse every time the promised day comes and goes without incident.

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Shoshin 7 points 2 days ago

IMO, most of the 'push back' has just been manufactured by the propaganda outlets. Speak to actual people and most sentiment, including small business owners, is that this small change is a positive. Don't take the bait. The conservative machine is in full steam trying to build discontent for any miniscule change which benefits the working class.

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Solemarc 3 points a day ago

This is wildly overblown. The only argument I've heard that has any substance is the ATO saying "this is a big cost to us so we're not doing credit payments anymore" but even then, it's not the only way you can pay.

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Salvo 2 points a day ago

I’ve noticed that a lot of small business are using it as an opportunity to raise prices that have not been able to keep up with inflation cost of living increases.

Larger businesses cannot because they are either contractually restricted by suppliers, restricted by a competitive market or have inflated their prices so much already that the market cannot bear any more increases.

And I don’t care if my breakfast coffee and muffin costs $11 cash, $11.20 EFTPOS or $12.00 on VISA, as long as they are honest.

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hanrahan 2 points a day ago

the only mild empathy was with originations like the ATO needing to ban cards because they can't raise prices to cover fees.

As a small business owner (and I was for many years) I'd go the other way and ban cash, the savings from no cash make up for the use of cards

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DoctorWhoDMC 2 points a day ago

You mean to tell me cash isn't being manufactured, transported to banks, sent to businesses and then back again, counted at every stage and checked for counterfeits, along with ATMs and cash registers built, powered and maintained, all for free by a bunch of volunteer worker elves?

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hanrahan 5 points a day ago

we just have endless arguments when anything changes. Other examples...

Gold Coast Tram, endless arguments before it was built, after, we're all for it and use it, super great

Need to do something about continual house price rises, Government does something, arrrrrgghhh house prices are falling, reading the AFR it's end of the world scenario.

never mind we should put in a bike lane, fucking end of the world...

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