Central Oregon businesses say no to extra charge

A Visa-Mastercard settlement gives businesses the option to pass along credit and debit card use fees to customers.

But are Central Oregon businesses going to start passing that fee on to you?

The business owners NewsChannel 21 talked with Wednesday said the answer is “no.” But they said the swipe fee is just another one of those expenses that really adds up for business.

Barb Cambpell owns Wabi Sabi, a unique Japanese gift store in downtown Bend, and has been searching for a new credit card processing system.

“Every month, my bill from the processing company is pages and pages, pages and pages long,” Campbell said. “There are at least four different categories of cards.”

From debit cards to credit cards, and within that group, preferred and advantage cards.

And Campbell has never charged a customer for using their card in her store .

“I’ve always had this strategy of asking my customers to please not use a card for a transaction that’s just a couple of dollars, because the fees are so high on a transaction,” Campbell said.

While 2 to 5 percent doesn’t sound like much, over the course of the year, it adds up.

And it will start adding up for the customer, too, if they have to start paying for it.

“We try to make it as a saving for them, instead of a punishment,” Campbell said. “I don’t want to punish anyone who is trying to spend money at my store. “

A.J. Cohen, owner of Local Joe, a jeans store in downtown Bend, said he doesn’t want to lose customers over card fees.

“We want people to not feel like we are nickel-and-diming them,” Cohen said. “And we want them to have a great shopping experience and not have to think about that.”

Cohen said the store hardly receives any cash or checks any more — most people pay using their debit cards.

“They’re not going to be happy about it, because they are in the same boat right now,” Cohen said. “Everyone is looking to save money.”

Some stores post signs that say you can use credit cards over a certain amount, or will give customers a discount if they pay cash on a certain sale.

“I think it’s pretty unfair to businesses, but at the same time, consumers need to be able to use credit cards,” Eugene resident Amber Vincent said. “Because travelers like myself, who aren’t from the area, don’t want to carry cash with us.”

Vincent said she still wants to support local businesses, which Cohen likes to hear.

“You try very hard to get people into your store and spending a lot of money on advertising that we do, so for a few cents here and there, to chase them away hardly seems worth it,” Cohen said. “Probably some of the bigger stores will add it already onto your bill or something like that. We won’t be doing that here.”

Campbell said another issue with credit card fees is whether the city of Bend will accept the cards for building permits.

She said that would be $90,000 to $100,000 a year in fees — money that Campbell said, you the taxpayers will be making up, every time somebody pays for one with a credit card.