Does anybody really carry around enough cash to fill their cars up at the pump nowadays? In fact, it’s getting to the point to where you have to take out a loan just to get a full tank of gas. Many people use their credit cards at the pump because it’s just quicker and easier. But some stations are starting to pull the plug on that idea.
In Charleston, West Virginia, Roger Randolph, a gas station manager, isn’t allowing his customers to use their plastic any longer when buying gas. In fact, he’s even hung at his station that reads, “No more credit cards.”
He isn’t the first to speak out against credit cards in recent months. Since prices have topped $4 a gallon everywhere, gas station owners are noticing that it’s actually costing them money to accept credit cards.
Without getting into the complicated math of a credit transaction, the basic idea is that gas station owners are required to pay a percentage of each sale to the credit card companies in order to process the transaction. That’s called an “interchange fee.” Although the percentage is fixed at less than two percent, the more gas a person buys with credit, the higher the amount the station owner has to pay. And since stations only mark up their gas by about 11 or 12 cents per gallon, that two percent (which comes out to about 10 cents per gallon) has become a real burden on many stations’ profits.
I’ve always wondered why some gas stations charge extra to use a credit card. Now I can see why. Instead of paying the extra fee, just pay in cash and save your money to put towards a purchase at your local GMC truck dealer. With great deals and incentives on trucks nowadays, it should take long to save up a great down payment!
