The first credit card is generally considered to be the Diners Club Card, which started in 1950 in New York City. The card (it was just cardboard then) caught on and grew to 10,000 members in the first year, with 28 restaurants and two hotels participating.

News (October 2022): In Canada, retailers and other businesses will be allowed to pass on fees of up to 2.4% to consumers.

Where we stand today: For every $100,000 you do in sales, as a merchant you pay about $2,400 in fees to issuing banks (sometimes more like $3,000 if you use Stripe or other popular e-commerce processing platforms). Will businesses actually invoke this new ability to pass on fees? Survey says:

A 10/5/22 report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business:

In Canada:

19% of small businesses are considering an added charge for credit card transactions to offset processing fees.

26% of respondents said they will add a surcharge if their competitors or suppliers do.

40% of small businesses say they are not sure yet.

15% do not intend to add an additional charge.

Today in the U.S.:

• Merchants pay about 2.4% for the convenience of accepting credit cards.
• Consumers reap credit card rewards.
• All of it is centralized finance based on a 72-year-old technology (credit cards) which monetarily benefits the middle man (banks or credit card companies) and offers the benefits of quick payments and convenience to the customer and merchant.

Where is this heading? Is Canada leading a new trend in passing on merchant fees to consumers?

News article:

Credit card companies in Canada are now giving businesses the option to add a surcharge to purchases, which means you could start paying more when you use your credit card. Following a class action lawsuit earlier this year, credit card companies Visa and Mastercard must now provide businesses the option to add a surcharge on credit card purchases to offset merchant fees, which typically cost the business around 1.5 to 2.5% of the sale. This means that, in some cases, the cost of paying via credit card can now be passed on to the customer, rather than the company selling the goods.

-Global News Canada, 10/5/2022: Paying by credit card? Most businesses in Canada can soon add surcharges for that

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