Sunday, June 29, 2008
Each time a customer swipes a credit card and pumps some gas, Christi’s C Store forfeits a bit of money.
The rising cost of gas has increased the amount of fees gas stations pay to credit card companies on every transaction. Some area stations have started taking action by offering customers discounts on cash purchases.
“The companies get a percentage of everything we sell on credit, and obviously with rising gas costs it has become a problem,” said Christi Woodhead, manager of Christ’s C Store in Bonner Springs. “Gas prices have doubled recently, which means they’re getting about twice as much.”
The charge, known as an interchange fee, is fixed at about two percent of each purchase but rises with the price of goods.
Woodhead said the discount for cash-paying customers varied day-to-day, but usually shaved a few cents per gallon off the price. The station posts signs each day on its registers to notify customers of the discount, but Woodhead said most customers still use credit cards.
“Credit cards are such a big thing now,” Woodhead said. “People tend to use credit cards more on large purchases like gas.”
In some areas of the country, stations are taking serious measures to cut down on credit card fees. According to an Associated Press report last week, gas vendors in West Virginia banned credit card purchases. Michele Hyatt, a Zarco 66 employee, said stores in Oklahoma were curtailing the use of credit cards.
Brian Jensen, who filled up his Isuzu Trooper Thursday at Kwik Shop, 1846 Massachusetts St., said he always paid for his gas with a credit card because it saved him the trouble of walking into the store. Jensen said he would probably make the switch to cash purchases if area stations began charging extra for purchases made with plastic.
Credit card fees haven’t hit some stores as hard as they hit Christi’s. Zarco 66, 1415 W. 6th St., does not offer incentives to cash customers or penalize credit card purchases. Hyatt said about 80 percent of customers paid at the pump using credit cards.
“We do have to pay a fee every time somebody uses credit, but we’re not experiencing much of an effect,” Hyatt said.
— Edited by Jesse Temple
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Paying at the pump? Some stations prefer cash over credit
Where is Christi’s C Store? Can you include an address?
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