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In many businesses, you cannot pay by credit card below a certain amount. But why ? And is it really legal? Here’s what you need to know …
Today, with a bank card, you can afford a simple can at the supermarket, but you cannot always afford a drink on the terrace, a baguette or even a pack of cigarettes. In question: the minimum bank card. Its amount is completely random and it varies among all traders. This is completely legal … as long as it is posted. But then why do traders do this?
The taxes
“We have agios which are enormous“, explains the manager of a bar. Most of the rates are fixed, but there is still a part negotiated between the merchant and his bank. The rate is therefore specific to each merchant, but it is most of the time between 0, 4 and 0.8%. Basically, for 10 euros, that represents between 4 and 8 euro cents.
Consume more
The second reason: to make us consume more. A pint at 6 euros, with a minimum bank card of 10 euros will encourage us … to take back a pint.
Less taxes
Finally, the third reason is to pay less taxes. Unlike the bank card, cash does not leave a trace. We can therefore declare less. A reason often used by bars and restaurants to ask that we pay in cash. “The cash, in bars, it allows you to pay the extras, not to declare everything to the accounts. “