Customers illegally charged credit card processing fees

[galexinda]

With the use of plastic money and seamless payments rising due to the coronavirus pandemic, some small retailers illegally transfer credit card processing fees to consumers....

However, smaller businesses are transferring the processing fee to the client, arguing that they have a small margin of profit, wiped out by such fees...

Some kiosks even display a sign informing customers of the extra charge...

POVEK is preparing a memo to be sent to Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides, asking the ministry to allow retailers to sell certain items for cash.

It will also suggest the law be amended to allow retailers the right not to accept credit cards for purchases under €10.

Edited from the link below:
https://www.financialmirror.com/2021/06 ... sing-fees/

[trevnhil]

Re "POVEK is preparing a memo to be sent to Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides, asking the ministry to allow retailers to sell certain items for cash." As far as I was aware shops are allowed to decide if they will accept a card OR cash.. What they are not allowed to do is charge a different price whichever you choose to use, or are allowed to use..
Quite a few places still do not accept a card for payment ..

[WHL]

Re "POVEK is preparing a memo to be sent to Finance Minister Constantinos Petrides, asking the ministry to allow retailers to sell certain items for cash." As far as I was aware shops are allowed to decide if they will accept a card OR cash.. What they are not allowed to do is charge a different price whichever you choose to use, or are allowed to use..
Quite a few places still do not accept a card for payment ..

I think I read last week, that they are preparing a new law, which says, all retailers/ restaurants / service's must provide a card payment option, more to do with tax avoidance then anything else in my opinion.

[WHL]

found it
https://cyprus-mail.com/2021/06/16/busi ... dit-cards/

[WHL]

Life is far too complicated already, accepting cards will greatly increase the accountancy work to do and rental for the machines and payment to jcc. I prefer cash to be honest.

Not at all, at the end of the trading day, you just press a button on the card machine, and you get a print out of the total sales, commission charged etc, in your Bank account within hours, give all the printouts to your bookkeeper/accountant, job done, you will not have a choice, whether you want one or not, it will be law to have a JCC machine if you are a trader,

In fact I can see Cyprus following Greece's example, were for the last ten years they brought a law out which says, that if you leave any restaurant/store or have work done by a plumber etc, and to not get an official till receipt you along with the shop keeper will get fined, this was brought out to combat tax avoidance, and they have people waiting outside restaurants/stores etc, were they will ask you as you leave to produce a receipt for your meal, if you cant produce one you will be hit with a fine.

https://news.gtp.gr/2019/08/14/greek-ta ... -receipts/

[trevnhil]

I wonder if this will mean that Pharmacies will Have to allow you to pay by card ??

[WHL]

I wonder if this will mean that Pharmacies will Have to allow you to pay by card ??

I think all businesses are going to have to accept card payment.

[trevnhil]

Some accept card payments, but not for all the things they sell. Some are cash only.

[ast]

Card payments are the way to go, being a business owner in the uk 60% of our business is now on card, yes you get charges on that but it saves handling all that dirty cash and paying the bank to handle it too. Its very expensive to pay cash into an account as a business.

[memory man]

they have people waiting outside restaurants/stores etc, were they will ask you as you leave to produce a receipt for your meal, if you cant produce one you will be hit with a fine.

Who will these people be?

Police maybe!
Govt officials maybe!

They will have to have some sort of ID!

[WHL]

they have people waiting outside restaurants/stores etc, were they will ask you as you leave to produce a receipt for your meal, if you cant produce one you will be hit with a fine.

Who will these people be?

Police maybe!
Govt officials maybe!

They will have to have some sort of ID!

They work for the authorities, and yes they show you ID, we got stopped coming out of a souvenir shop on Rhodes some years ago, and they asked to see our receipt .

[galexinda]

My concern is that I understand it is illegal to charge a higher price for the same item when a credit card is used instead of cash:

Looking back I see the topic was discussed on here in October 2020: viewtopic.php?t=13286

[WHL]

Whl I was speaking of payment method, How ever you pay you should be given a legal vat receipt . This is not a problem if you run a pos system . Why, when you pay cash do they not give you a receipt ?

Simple don't show it on the till, don't declare it, so you don't pay tax, vat etc.