A tweet about American Express prompted us to research the company’s relationships with merchants.

An interesting article at Bargainer highlights the average fees merchants pay to credit card companies.

Want a peek behind the curtains? This is it.

Buyavowel thinks that something’s wrong:

“Credit cards require a minimum purchase of $5.” Um, requirements like that are in violation of your terms with visa

Credit card rules vary per agreement. However, most do say that no minimum purchase requirement is allowed.

What can you do about it? You could always try debating the person attempting to charge you extra. Or, you could complain more subtly.  You can write to Visa at askvisacorporate@visa.com or call MasterCard at 1-800-300-3069.

Merchants have a notably conflicted relationship with credit cards, but as …

Tonyacook25 tweets an article about Visa cutting off credit card scamming merchants:

Visa cuts off 100 merchants for scamming consumers: Among the most common hustles: billing the credit cards of .. http://bit.ly/81Kdcl

As the article states, it’s the year end culling of scammy merchants. Most serially charged customers who didn’t realize they were signing up for a subscription program.

It’s great that credit card companies police their merchants. However, you can’t count on them. It’s unclear if the charges will …

JoeCaruso notes an interesting Costco policy:

Costco to accept food stamps nationwide… They don’t even accept Visa or Mastercard in their stores…

The reason is actually simple: transaction fees.

Costco probably refuses to accept credit cards for the same reason convenience stores do: they want to avoid fees charged by credit card companies on a per transaction and percentage basis. These transaction fees often create costs that wipe away profit margins for merchants.

Food stamps involve processing fees as well- however, they are usually a smaller percentage or transaction fee than …

Willdymott is taking a poll:

Verified by visa & Mastercard secure code? Like it, loathe it or is it just another barrier to purchase? Let me know what you think.

In the past, we’ve written about using Verified by Visa. Mastercard SecureCode is a similar program.

An opt in program for online purchases, Mastercard SecureCode promises consumers an extra layer of security when making online purchases. It’s intended to protect against identity theft online. Instead of maintaining a list of participating merchants, Mastercard has a logo appear on …

Denisvlasov is starting to get suspicious:

Seems like somebody is trying to make a fraud purchase using my mastercard. My card is always with me. Do I have to worry?

Unfortunately, even if you have your physical credit card, you may still be at risk for identity theft.

How? The information on your credit card is as important as the physical card. If anyone steals that information by making a copy or recording the numbers, you’re at risk for them using your card illegally. There are numerous examples of this occurring …

PaymentsNews highlights Mastercard’s recent response to protests over merchant fees:

MasterCard Challenges 7-Eleven Consumer Campaign Over Fees: In a press release this afternoon, MasterCard said .. http://bit.ly/29l8iI

In the past, we’ve talked about convenience stores and credit cards- it only seems fair to give the other side of the story.

Convenience store owners and other merchants are upset that credit card companies charge certain fees for purchases, and they particularly dislike changes in these fees or the fee structure. That’s the reason …

CharleneDavis highlights a possible trend:

Two grocery store chains attempt to ban check writing: http://bit.ly/12QcOInteresting because a few vendors no longer process credit cards

The story makes an interesting point- in a lot of cases, the most popular method becomes the most convenient method for merchants, even if it costs them more.

Checks used to be one of the most popular payment methods. Apart from any bank-imposed fee, they are free for consumers and deduct money directly from the consumer’s account. …

A merchant credit card processor, 2paymentgateway, recently posted about the advantages of accepting credit cards by phone:

New blog post: You Should Accept Credit Cards By Phone For The Growth Of Your Business

Naturally, that post for merchants got us thinking about you, the consumer. How can you make sure your credit card information is safe over the phone? How can you protect against identiy theft?

First, make sure that you are calling the merchant or credit card company, and not the other way around. Anyone could call your …

Voodoochilli has been shopping online with their Visa- and, occasionally, it involves a few extra steps:

Is it just me that finds “Verified by Visa” annoying? Please type in the 1st, 5th and 8th number of some password you made up 3 years ago…

What is the Verified By Visa program? And can you opt out of it, if you choose?

Verified By Visa is an opt in program that allows consumers to add an extra measure of security to their online purchases. As you can read in their FAQ, it …