Use access key #2 to skip to page content.

HarryCarysGhost (99.77)

Retailers want you to PAY so they can PROFIT

Recs

6

August 28, 2010 – Comments (9) | RELATED TICKERS: MA , V

Congress wants to cut retailers a break on what they pay to accept debit cards. It would certainly help retailers' bottom line.

But how will this impact what YOU pay for your debit card?

This anti-consumer amendment-passed without debate or hearing-must not stand.

Visit www.thecardalliance.org to learn more. Or-

The CARD Alliance (thecardalliance) on TwitterYou pay your bills. Giant retailers should pay theirs too.

twitter.com/thecardalliance - Cached

"For a lesson in what might happen,[Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com] points to Australia, which slashed interchange fees in 2003... banks reduced credit card rewards programs, increased annual fees and required customers to pay credit card bills sooner"

~USA Today, 5/25/10

" When new laws decrease fees, you'd think most people would end up better off. Yet the much ballyhooed new regulation on credit card interchange fees may end up doing ordinary consumers more harm than good"

~Motley Fool 5/24/10

"The bad news for consumers: Banks are expexted to respond to the regularitory shake-up with more fees on basic services such as checking accounts... It is'nt clear, though, if merchants will pass along their savings on so-called interchange fees to customers."

~The Wall Street Journal, 5/21/10

Full disclosure- I'm a long term Visa shareholder, but even if I was'nt I'd call this bill B.S.

 

9 Comments – Post Your Own

#1) On August 28, 2010 at 8:33 PM, HarryCarysGhost (99.77) wrote:

Who wants to hear a rant, I've got a good one on this subject.

First rec I'm ranting away :)

Report this comment
#2) On August 28, 2010 at 9:22 PM, HarryCarysGhost (99.77) wrote:

Okay first rec here goes...

Visa proccesses every swipe of the card and gets a percentage of the transaction!

It's your bank that puts the interest rates and fees in place. Open your wallet or purse and you will see that your cards have a bank name on them, that's who makes the fees and interest rates.

Yet our Government has been on a crusade to demonize credit card companies. I geuss it would'nt serve their purposes to call out the banks since thery're the major shareholders.

It's a form of brainwashing that certain politicions want to impose just so they can get there way. American public be damned.

Well thats my abbreviated rant.

Fight the power...

Long live Visa!

 

Report this comment
#3) On August 28, 2010 at 10:33 PM, Tastylunch (29.89) wrote:

I disagree with you  on this issue msftgev

Visa et al credit card oligopoly sets all the rules on how retailers can take credit cards, including no minimum accepted amounts and provision forcing retailers to accept all or none of their branded cards, rates that charge retailers as much on debit cards as they do on credit despite much lower default risk, forcing retailers to take on extra expenses which gets passed onto the customer.

The source your provided is credit card lobbyists site funded by VISA, AMEX Mastcard , JP Morgan and several other of their member mega banks. They aren't exactly unbiased.

not sayin Wal-mart, Best Buy et al aren't trying to get theirs (we all know they are), but I think you are being naive if you think Visa et al aren't already getting more from the consumer than retailers ever do. You can't tell me credit card companies are the "friends" of the consumer when they have encouraged huge overspending at basically usurious interest rates for decades all the while driving up prices for consumers at retailers.Yeah in the short term you'll lose airline points have less credit available which will suck for sure but you know what I'll take an America where more people are incentivizied to live within their means and an America where maybe independent credit card companies have a snowball's chance in Hades of even competing.

Personally I'm going to side with the guys who got zero bailout funds anyday over the oligopolists who have run up trillions in public debt and helped put millions of Americans in virtual debt slavery. Both probably don't have my best interests purely at heart, but given that retailers still face brutal competition I think they are more likely to pass savings onto consumers than banks are.

But that's just my opinion.

Report this comment
#4) On August 28, 2010 at 11:32 PM, HarryCarysGhost (99.77) wrote:

>I disagree with you  on this issue msftgev

Cool, lets talk.

>Visa et al credit card oligopoly sets all the rules on how retailers can take credit cards, including no minimum accepted amounts and provision forcing retailers to accept all or none of their branded cards, rates that charge retailers as much on debit cards as they do on credit despite much lower default risk, forcing retailers to take on extra expenses which gets passed onto the customer.

Yeah.. your right about that (sigh) but I thought they had a douopoly going with MA

>The source your provided is credit card lobbyists site funded by VISA, AMEX Mastcard , JP Morgan and several other of their member mega banks. They aren't exactly unbiased.

Yeah but my quotes were from WSJ,TMF and USA Today.

>Both probably don't have my best interests purely at heart, but given that retailers still face brutal competition I think they are more likely to pass savings onto consumers than banks are.

Tasty, that was my point Visa is not a financial yet there being penalized for the actions of banks.

>You can't tell me credit card companies are the "friends" of the consumer when they have encouraged huge overspending at basically usurious interest rates for decades all the while driving up prices for consumers at retailers.

No I can't tell you that but I do Know the banks set those rates

Report this comment
#5) On August 29, 2010 at 12:37 AM, dpdoor (42.03) wrote:

The consumer needs the breaks not the rich guys, compnies have money but no customers, Obama help the little guy! and I'm a retailer saying this!

Report this comment
#6) On August 29, 2010 at 10:42 AM, HarryCarysGhost (99.77) wrote:

@dpdoor- as a retailer would you be passing along the savings to consumers if thats the case then...Okay I'm cool with that.

Wanted to add Visa and Mastercard get %1- %1.5 of the transaction. They do not make loans. If I've managed to get that point across then I'm a happy camper.

Like I said I'm a Visa shareholder so my opinion is definetly not unbiased. If the retailers will pass along savings to the little guy then fine. I'm just skeptical that they will.

 

Report this comment
#7) On August 29, 2010 at 5:53 PM, Tastylunch (29.89) wrote:

msftgev

>I thought they had a douopoly going with MA

Not exactly, if recollection serves Mastercard and Visa actually are owned by the same groups of banks. Whereas AMEX and Discover are basically independent. Nonethless the retailer and restaurants (everyone forgets about them,) has little choice. If you don't accept VISA you might as close.

so what retailers and restaurants do is they stop carrying inexpensive things. Because most places can't afford to have low average transactions due to the pricing structure.

>Yeah but my quotes were from WSJ,TMF and USA Today.

That's completely fair. It might be interesting to see what they were like in their original context though as the card alliance cherry picked those. Washington Post and several other newspapers have taken the opposite view.

It could very well  be TMF, WSJ and USA today think the bill is bad. I just don'tt trust teh card alliance to tell me if they did.

Just like I wouldn't trust Wal-mart's lobbyists tell me if the bill was fair.

>Visa is not a financial yet there being penalized for the actions of banks.

I completely  disagree. Visa was created by Bank of America. At its' heart it is a short term lender. It was created by banks, it remains controlled by banks. What credit cards essentially in reality is form of ultra short term loans at high interest. And since the banks own Visa it doesn't really matter if they own the loan or VISA does. Since they are both the same people in essence.

Not that different from what Pawn Shops and Pay day lenders do. Just far far less usurious than the pay day lender types.

>Like I said I'm a Visa shareholder so my opinion is definetly not unbiased.

I'm not unbiased either. My business takes those cards so the current legislation would affect me quite a bit.

That being said I do like VISA. Their existence is boon for everybody, it allows consumers to not have to plan purchases as much, provides safety in the event of robbery, eliminates the need for store accounts for most retailers. And other hard to quantify benefits.

 I just think they either need to be regulated or have more competition as they basically leave retailers with no choice. As it is now they can charge whatever they want and retailers more or less have to take it (unless your name is Wal-Mart).

>If the retailers will pass along savings to the little guy then fine. I'm just skeptical that they will.

All you have to is look at Costco and Sam's club prices to see what would happen. Both don't take credit cards and both have lower prices than most of their competitors.

Same was true for ARCO  the old gas station chain in California that was bought out by BP

And if  retailer doesn't lower their prices? Well then their competition would probably kill them. As they undoubtedly would lower prices to steal volume. Retail is highly highly cutthroat. Juts look at what Best Buy did to Circuit City.

That's my take on it. I think VISA will be fine either way. And I think your investment will likely work very well out as long as your horizon is long enough.

The difference for VISA will be stinkin' rich vs filthy rich.

Report this comment
#8) On August 29, 2010 at 9:16 PM, HarryCarysGhost (99.77) wrote:

Whelp.. I'm declaring Tasty the winner of this debate.

As long as I'll be stinkin' rich......; )

 

Report this comment
#9) On September 01, 2010 at 10:11 PM, blesto (31.08) wrote:

Good debate guys! In any event I'm skeptical of any legislation coming down the pike nowadays. 

If nobody else wants it I'll take the filthy rich.  :0)

 

Report this comment

Featured Broker Partners


Advertisement