> Everything has a cost, and someone has to pay it.
In Europe, the interchange fee (what the retailer's bank pays to the card company) is limited to 0.3% for credit cards and 0.2% for debit cards. This came into effect sometime last year.
Are you sure that's not 3% and 2%? When you consider the banks are on the hook for fradulent charges the interchange fee is their buffer to cover this (plus the myriad reward programs most banks offer).
Wow, it's almost as if capping the fees they can charge provides an incentive for the banks to aggressively pursue anti-fraud technologies that benefit everyone.
Naw, never mind this is the USA. Free market is all that matters.
In Europe, the interchange fee (what the retailer's bank pays to the card company) is limited to 0.3% for credit cards and 0.2% for debit cards. This came into effect sometime last year.