Credit card surcharges - ‘rip-off’ card charges - are due to end in 2013. . But some companies have increased or introduced surcharges in a bid to rake in cash while they still can.
"Airlines alone charge customers £300m a year in card surcharges, according to the Office of Fair Trading. This is far too high.
Processing a debit card payment costs around 8p-20p, while credit card payments typically cost around 1.5% to 2% of the transaction value. But a family of four taking a return flight with Aer Lingus or Ryanair, for example, could pay £48 in debit card surcharges – that’s at least 240 times the typical processing cost of a debit card transaction.
The same family spending £2,000 on flights with Jet2 would pay a hefty £147 in surcharges if they paid by credit card.
The surcharge problem has grown worse over the years. Between 2004 and now, Flybe has increased its surcharges by 1,025%, while Ryanair has increased its surcharges by 1,400%. And while British Airways previously didn’t charge for credit card payments, it now charges £4.50 per passenger."