Credit Card Surchage - Are you changing your method of payment?

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Forums › Finance and wealth management › Credit Card Surchage - Are you changing your method of payment?

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20150 posts

Uber Geek

#3397874 28-Jul-2025 22:18

Handsomedan:

mattwnz:

TBH I didn't mind the actual CC fee as long as Eftpos and cash was free. But the paywave fee was just ridiculous. Now I guess all consumers will pay for people to use credit cards, unless banks reduce their fees. They are making a lot of money clipping the ticket and it fees like a bank tax. They don't seem to like cash and eftpos and cash machines machines are disappearing, and being replaced by third party machines which charge a fee.

Are you able to back that up with any facts?
Do you know what the interchange rates are and how much the banks make on their margins over interchange, minus costs to provide the services they do?
Why don't we have a crack at the electricity providers? The EFTPOS terminal rental companies? The government for forcing retailers to pay their staff a wage, instead of being able to use them for free?

This sort of uninformed rhetoric really does my head in.

Read https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/consumer-nz-calls-for-an-end-to-the-surcharge-swindle

The Commerce Commission (the Commission) estimates New Zealanders are being charged approximately $45 million to $65 million a year in excess surcharges.

That is a significant amount of excess surcharges that NZers are paying.

Behodar

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#3397875 28-Jul-2025 22:26

cokemaster:

Finally - quite a few EFTPOS units will only display the surcharge after the fact or not give you the option of reviewing the surcharge prior to payment processing.

That astounded me when I was over there recently. For example, at a hotel, "that will be $250". The terminal also shows $250, then you check your bank statement and find it was actually $253.

richms

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#3397877 28-Jul-2025 22:30

It is an option for the software load that the merchant has chosen not to have enabled. We were able to choose between just adding it, displaying both prices, or having to have the customer press the green button to agree to it when having them added.

Richard rich.ms

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#3397882 28-Jul-2025 22:46

Personally, I don't have an issue with passing credit card fees onto the end user but I want the retailer to have some skin in the game too (eg. they need to feel the pain too). That way there is an incentive for them to seek competitive processor rates. Fees should be disclosed well before the point of sale (ideally on the entrance).

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mattwnz

20150 posts

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#3397885 28-Jul-2025 23:24

cokemaster:

Personally, I don't have an issue with passing credit card fees onto the end user but I want the retailer to have some skin in the game too (eg. they need to feel the pain too). That way there is an incentive for them to seek competitive processor rates. Fees should be disclosed well before the point of sale (ideally on the entrance).

is there enough competition in the banking market to allow that? The Commerce Commission have said that the fees are excessive and it looks like they plan to do something about this. So that is another piece of the puzzle in reducing costs for consumers. The governments move is just another part of the puzzle.

pdh

341 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3397887 29-Jul-2025 00:04

Anyone know what happens to the likes of Meridian charging a CC fee for paying the power bill ?

richms

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#3397888 29-Jul-2025 00:12

pdh:

Anyone know what happens to the likes of Meridian charging a CC fee for paying the power bill ?

Probably just bundle the increase in with the next power rate increase, as with no reason not to use it, everyone will use their cards to get the meager rewards that they offer on them.

Richard rich.ms

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Bung

6480 posts

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#3397889 29-Jul-2025 00:19

"The proposed law would cover most in-store payments made using Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards, as well as EFTPOS, but not online purchases or other international card schemes."

Your power bill would probably be classed as an online purchase.

pdh

341 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3397891 29-Jul-2025 00:41

> but not online purchases

Going to allow click & collect to be a couple of percent dearer than buying in store then...

mattwnz

20150 posts

Uber Geek

#3397893 29-Jul-2025 01:11

Bung:

"The proposed law would cover most in-store payments made using Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards, as well as EFTPOS, but not online purchases or other international card schemes."

Your power bill would probably be classed as an online purchase.

Some power companies seem to allow you to pay at a NZ post shop, eg this one https://www.genesisenergy.co.nz/for-home/services/billing-and-payments . But they charge a $1.40 admin fee for paying by eftpos. I wonder if that will be allowed after this law change.

Bung

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#3397895 29-Jul-2025 03:33

I suspect that the $1.40 admin fee at NZ Post refers to both cash and EFTPOS.

Other power companies make this clearer eg "You may pay your bill over the counter at NZ Post by cash or Eftpos. Payments made in person will cost $2.10 (incl GST) each time. The fee will appear on your next Contact bill."

rugrat

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#3397896 29-Jul-2025 03:39

I’ve been to shops that don’t charge the surcharge and some of them also have cheaper prices than ones that do.

Some retailers in my view are making larger mark ups than others.

If everyone that used payWave paid by cash, I’m sure the time spent banking, bank cash fees would be higher, yet they don’t charge extra for paying by cash.

Handle9

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#3397897 29-Jul-2025 05:57

mattwnz:

Handsomedan:

Are you able to back that up with any facts?
Do you know what the interchange rates are and how much the banks make on their margins over interchange, minus costs to provide the services they do?
Why don't we have a crack at the electricity providers? The EFTPOS terminal rental companies? The government for forcing retailers to pay their staff a wage, instead of being able to use them for free?

This sort of uninformed rhetoric really does my head in.

Read https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/consumer-nz-calls-for-an-end-to-the-surcharge-swindle

The Commerce Commission (the Commission) estimates New Zealanders are being charged approximately $45 million to $65 million a year in excess surcharges.

That is a significant amount of excess surcharges that NZers are paying.

The article says nothing about bank fees which is what you originally alleged. It talks about retailers over charging not banks.

eracode

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#3397900 29-Jul-2025 06:22

rugrat:

If everyone that used payWave paid by cash, I’m sure the time spent banking, bank cash fees would be higher, yet they don’t charge extra for paying by cash.

Taking BNZ as a representative example bank, their cash handling fees are 0.5% for staff assisted cash deposits and 0.25% for automated deposits. So cash handling fees are not higher than PayWave surcharges commonly charged. However this does not take into account the physical faffing around involved in going to the bank - or the cost of having the cash collected by a security company.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

Asteros

260 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3397911 29-Jul-2025 07:52

Widely accepted that NZ is an expensive place to live. In the US a large percentage of goods are cheaper. Yet they don’t have any government mandated limits on credit card acceptance costs. Not sure if this ban will drive up prices significantly here in NZ.

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