ACS is advising members to prepare for new rules that will stop them from charging customers to use credit or debit cards in store. Current EU rules prohibit businesses from charging customers more than the costs of offering card payments, but will now go further by banning surcharging completely, so retailers have to offer the same price regardless of the means of payment.
ACS' latest Voice of Local Shops survey shows that about 13% of retailers currently surcharge for card payments, and from 13 January 2018 this will no longer be legal. Retailers who do surcharge need to change their policies by this time. It will remain legal to have a minimum spend for card transactions (33% of retailers currently adopt this policy) or to not accept card payments (as is the case for 8% of convenience stores).
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “These rules were introduced mainly to stop excessive card payment charges by on line retailers and service providers, but they also apply to shops including convenience stores. Retailers need to be aware of this, and the small minority of retailers who currently charge customers to use cards will have to stop doing this after 13 January.”
92% of the 1,210 stores surveyed in the November 2017 Voice of Local Shops survey accepted card payments, and most stores offer mobile and contactless payment facilities. However, cash remains the prime method of payment in convenience stores with 76% of customers choosing to pay in this way. 45% of stores offer free to use cash machines and 13% offer charging cash machines, 51% offer cashback*.
*data on availability of facilities and proportion of cash payments from the ACS Local Shop Report 2017