Fees on signature debit purchases boost banks, screw merchants
(NEWSER) - In a bizarre twist, the intense competition among debit card companies has resulted in a race to higher prices, which benefit banks at the expense of retailers, not to speak of consumers. At issue is whether you sign for that debit purchase or enter your PIN instead—the former costing merchants twice as much as the latter. Visa has cornered the market in signature purchases, which reward banks, which in turn motivates banks to bring Visa more business, which in turn has spurred other companies to raise their fees as well. Merchants just shake their heads. More»
