Bgcallam is curious about convenience stores and credit cards:

If you’re a convenience store, what reason besides tax evasion would you not accept credit cards?

Why do some convenience stores refuse credit cards? Simple- every time a customer uses a credit card, it costs them money.

The National Association of Convenience Stores has lobbied to change the way that credit cards and convenience stores work together. The processing and transaction fees card companies charge frequently sap away whatever profits a convenience store makes. A representative of the Circle K chan says that most convenience stores pay a fixed fee per transaction and a percentage fee based on the price of the item. As you can imagine, it’s easy for the profits on a $.50 candy bar to be eaten away pretty quickly. The NACS estimates the yearly cost at $8.4 billion, which it says exceeds total profits made by the stores.

That’s the reason that your local convenience store may refuse to accept a credit card or have a minimum purchase price. Increasingly, convenience stores and other retailers are preparing for a legislative battle to change rates that they believe are unfair. You may have seen petitions to change rates as well. Frequently, customers are caught in the middle and forced to choose between the convenience of their credit card and the preference of the merchant. Chances are that the dilemma won’t be resolved anytime soon.