Minimum card spend.

greyteam1959

If I go into a shop to make any purchase at all & they don't take credit or debit cards I walk out.

Murphybear

a_car_person said:

Minimum spend on card purchases are so infuriating, I wanted to buy a £2.50 newspaper (as a one off) and then had to buy something I neither wanted nor needed to take it up to £3.

I know they do it to make offering card payments profitable due to the fees they incur but it really is frustrating when we live in a near-cashless society.

I also think they aren’t allowed to do this for licensing reasons but I’m not 100% sure. 

Not where we live. We live in a market town and most of the market traders are cash only.  I’ve seen shops recently who have changed to cash only.  My hairdresser only accepts cash for tips.  2 of the banks had long queues at the cash point and you could see they were drawing cash.  

This is a very affluent area 

MDMD

serpico100 said:

Both Visa and MasterCard have specific rules for merchants. If there is a minimum spend for visa they are not breaking any rules as visa state:

A Merchant must not establish a minimum or maximum Transaction amount as a condition for honoring a Card.This does not apply to a European Economic Area Transaction or a Domestic Transaction accepted in the United Kingdom.

However, MasterCard have no such caveat and if the merchant accepts MasterCard and has a minimum spend they are contravening MasterCard rules:

A Merchant must not require, or indicate that it requires, a minimum or maximum Transaction amount to accept a valid and properly presented Mastercard or Maestro Card.

But a trader has the right under contract law to refuse to accept any offer from a customer to buy goods or services (subject to various anti-discrimination rules).

so regardless of what MC say if a trader sets a minimum value for card transactions then it is perfectly lawful 

GrumpyDil

a_car_person said:

Thanks for the explanation!

Yes a trader refusing to accept an offer to buy something is perfectly within their rights to do so as long as that refusal is not discriminatory.

However, based on the snippet above I'd say they could be in breach of the Mastercard agreement. That said if the fees structure means small transactions are not profitable I don't personly have a problem with having a minimum spend. If it is above what I want to spend and there is nothing I need to make it up I go elsewhere instead. 

Paully28

my most recent minimum amount spent on a card payment was 20p. 

DullGreyGuy

serpico100 said:

A Merchant must not establish a minimum or maximum Transaction amount as a condition for honoring a Card.This does not apply to a European Economic Area Transaction or a Domestic Transaction accepted in the United Kingdom.

Did you miss that bit @serpico100 or do you think the OP is outside the UK and/or has a non-UK issued card?

Murphybear said:

a_car_person said:

Minimum spend on card purchases are so infuriating, I wanted to buy a £2.50 newspaper (as a one off) and then had to buy something I neither wanted nor needed to take it up to £3.

I know they do it to make offering card payments profitable due to the fees they incur but it really is frustrating when we live in a near-cashless society.

I also think they aren’t allowed to do this for licensing reasons but I’m not 100% sure. 

Not where we live. We live in a market town and most of the market traders are cash only.  I’ve seen shops recently who have changed to cash only. 

Clearly a very different place to hear where food trucks and posh markets are the most likely places to be card only. Even the few old school "got it off the back of a lorry mate" or "Rollex watches" type markets predominately will accept cards (but prefer cash)

p00hsticks

DullGreyGuy said:

serpico100 said:

A Merchant must not establish a minimum or maximum Transaction amount as a condition for honoring a Card.This does not apply to a European Economic Area Transaction or a Domestic Transaction accepted in the United Kingdom.

Did you miss that bit @serpico100 or do you think the OP is outside the UK and/or has a non-UK issued card?

I'm not sure of the point you are making ?

 If you re-read serpico100's post you'll see that the piece you are quoting is from VIsa's rules and regulations, and the UK exclusion means that - as serpico says - a Uk merchant is perfectly within their rights to impose a minimum transaction limit for their cards.

 However, it goes on to point out than the corresponding Mastercard rules has no such exclusion, so the sort of blanket limit on card payments that the OP complains about would leave the retailer breaking the Mastercard rules if they accept Mastercard or Maestro cards as well as Visa.

Albermarle

a_car_person said:

Minimum spend on card purchases are so infuriating, I wanted to buy a £2.50 newspaper (as a one off) and then had to buy something I neither wanted nor needed to take it up to £3.

I know they do it to make offering card payments profitable due to the fees they incur but it really is frustrating when we live in a near-cashless society.

I also think they aren’t allowed to do this for licensing reasons but I’m not 100% sure. 

I do not really understand why people deliberately carry no cash at all, when it clearly can inconvenience them, like above. 

Logical answer is to always have a couple of fivers/tenners and a bit of loose change with you. Not exactly a big issue to do that, and it solves all these irritations about minimum card spend/card reader not working. A very easy and simple solution that reduces potential stress.

jon81uk

Albermarle said:

a_car_person said:

Minimum spend on card purchases are so infuriating, I wanted to buy a £2.50 newspaper (as a one off) and then had to buy something I neither wanted nor needed to take it up to £3.

I know they do it to make offering card payments profitable due to the fees they incur but it really is frustrating when we live in a near-cashless society.

I also think they aren’t allowed to do this for licensing reasons but I’m not 100% sure. 

I do not really understand why people deliberately carry no cash at all, when it clearly can inconvenience them, like above. 

Logical answer is to always have a couple of fivers/tenners and a bit of loose change with you. Not exactly a big issue to do that, and it solves all these irritations about minimum card spend/card reader not working. A very easy and simple solution that reduces potential stress.

I haven't regularly carried cash in years and never had an issue.

I know the barbers I go to doesn't take cards so I take cash there. If I was going to a small corner shop I might take cash as they are less likely to take cards or have a minimum spend, but I've not done that in years as usually go to supermarkets or stores I know take card.

MattMattMattUK

Albermarle said:

a_car_person said:

Minimum spend on card purchases are so infuriating, I wanted to buy a £2.50 newspaper (as a one off) and then had to buy something I neither wanted nor needed to take it up to £3.

I know they do it to make offering card payments profitable due to the fees they incur but it really is frustrating when we live in a near-cashless society.

I also think they aren’t allowed to do this for licensing reasons but I’m not 100% sure. 

I do not really understand why people deliberately carry no cash at all, when it clearly can inconvenience them, like above. 

I have not used cash since 2019 and that was less than £100 over the year, it has once in that time caused me a mild inconvenience, I just walked slightly further. 

Albermarle said:

Logical answer is to always have a couple of fivers/tenners and a bit of loose change with you. Not exactly a big issue to do that, and it solves all these irritations about minimum card spend/card reader not working. A very easy and simple solution that reduces potential stress.

That is not really the logical answer though, the occasional (once every three years) minor inconvenience from not carrying cash is completely outweighed by not having to carry cash the rest of the time. I also would not find it stressful if for some minor transaction I was unable to complete it, I just would not bother.