to not just buy one thing on a card, i.e, something for one pound,, but have to buy a couple

[slartybartfast]

I am embarrassed to put such a minuscule amount on a card. go to supermarket for just one packet of value bacon was the thing in question.
DH says everyone does it and I shouldnt feel ashamed.

[TheSkiingGardener]

those saying "Just use contactless" please bear in mind that not everybody has it. I have 3 cards, with major issuers and not one will offer me contactless. Hmph

[maggiethemagpie]

Minimum spends really annoy me. Or worse, the charge for spending less than the minimum spend. In a cocktail bar once I ordered a £9 cocktail and was told I'd have to spend 50p as it was below their minimum of £10. I waited til he'd poured it then told him that I wasn't willing to pay the extra charge and would go elsewhere - so they wasted a £9 cocktail due to being grabby.

[maggiethemagpie]

Why would anyone care whether you put 50 p or £50 on a card transaction??? what a bizzare AIBU!

[roofio87]

I bought a 35p pack of chewing gum yesterday and got £20 cash back!!

[TheGirlFromIpanema]

There are a vast array of merchant services companies for business's to use. Some will likely sign up for one that doesn't meet their requirements and fee's will be higher for them. Or their receipts change over time. Most will be in medium-long term contracts that are impossible difficult to get out of early.

I imagine the big supermarkets do not have pay-per-transaction type set-ups. Smaller shops may still have minimum spend limits imposed on them (ie they are actually charged extra for accepting lower amounts)

All too often these things are set up by small business owners when they first start out and are seen as easy pickings by the merchant service providers iyswim.

[fuzzpig]

Minimum spends are in general much less common now though, in shops anyway. I'm sure they were more usual when I first started using a debit card in the late 90s.

[fuzzpig]

I used to volunteer in a charity shop (BHF) and customers were frequently amazed that we had NO minimum spend for credit/debit cards! Whereas in the library I work in, it's a minimum of a fiver.

[PhaedraIsMyName]

If the shop hasn't imposed a minimum spend amount they clearly don't care and neither should you.

If the shop has imposed a minimum spend it's because of the charges they incur so you really have no option other than buying something else.

[wowfudge]

I don't like contact less payments - not sure why, but I don't.

Those of you paying card processing charges in your businesses, do you either factor in those costs when pricing or take the hit on your profits because they are an operating cost?

[60sname]

Why not use contactless? I use it for most of my small transactions now - much quicker than rummaging for change (unlike waiting for the card to go in, enter PIN etc. Plus my account tracks my sundry payments so I know where it goes.

[slartybartfast]

i remember a long time ago being really shocked that someone put something like £1.75 on a credit card, it was less common years ago. now it is very common. but unless I use self service, i find it difficult.

as it was, after buying my extras I got money off with necter points and my shopping was 65p! I did use a card - yay!

[thatstoast]

I'm another one who doesn't understand why this would be embarrassing. Could you try and explain?

I've worked in a shop, I've served someone who was buying beer and nappies and when she didn't have enough money for both bought the beer and left the nappies. You see all sorts of things, how people pay for their shopping barely registers.

[Plateofcrumbs]

I think supermarkets etc would rather you used a card than cash, as managing cash is expensive. I think it's different for small businesses - which is why they often have minimum spends for cards. I'd apologise in a small business but no way in a supermarket - we're all encouraged to used contactless now anyway, just tap and go!

[stagsden]

I dont use cash just cards so ill buy what i need nothing more.

Use self service if it bothers you.

[HelpMeGetOutOfHere]

not retail, but at work we get charged 3.3% of the transaction by the card processor, but no annual fee. Previous card processor, charged an annual fee, equipment charge and a % of the transaction!

[Nohootingchickenssleeping]

I was once buying paracetamol with coins in Tesco and I was 4p short. The lady behind the counter made me get my bank card to pay the 4p or she wouldn't have let me have them. They can't be that worried about card charges!

[ladypete]

Why would that be embarrassing? Whether you pay on a card or with cash it is still clear you have the funds to pay for it somehow - you're not stealing it !

I really don't get it, and am that people would buy necessary things and waste money to avoid this unnecessary embarrassment.

[BigcatLittlecat]

Frekletoes I have a small business and depending on the provider it costs between 30-40p per transaction plus VAT if below a certain amount or a percentage of the transaction with a minimum of 30p. I really would prefer it if people used cash as the majority of our card purchases are for small amounts and the charges soon add up! I don't have a minimum spend thouigh or a charge because people don't like it but I'm not used people realise the cost of using a machine. Obviously the big supermarkets will have a much better deal with banka and pay. very low transaction fee!

[ChristmasYoni]

To those who use coin star, do you know a lot of banks have coin machines just like those now which counts the coins and puts them straight into your accounts? Saves you the 9p a £ that coin star charges. There a some in my local barclays and Halifax has just got one too :-) HTH

[Freckletoes]

The minimum spend is related to the charges the shop had to pay to be able to accept card payments. Does anyone know roughly how much they are? I know they vary from card to card which is why so few places take AmEx as their charges are a lot higher. This is why I always us cash in small businesses so they aren't losing out by taking a card payment-particularly for something of low value. But in the big chains it doesn't bother me as much!

[TheSkiingGardener]

Why would you be embarrassed? I genuinely don't understand what would make that transaction embarrassing?

[starfishmummy]

I use coinstar too for copper as I can't be bothered to count and bag them up and then haul them to the bank. The coinstar fee is less than parking would cost

[Notso]

I have no problem doing this in a supermarket. I recently bought some reduced milkshakes for 20p each that were still on offer so you saved 38p if you bought two. I spent 6p on my card.
In my corner shop there is a minimum spend of £5 for using a card, there I end up buying all kinds of over-priced random crap just because I have run out of milk.

[PeppermintInfusion]

Ive heard other people say they'd be embarrassed too, I didn't think there's anything wrong with it personally - is it that you think they might assume you don't have access to enough money?
I rarely carry cash as I just fritter it away (take out a tenner to buy a £3 sandwich and the rest just goes). I frequently pay for a coffee, drink, small lunch, magazine etc with my card and never think anything of it. Obviously some places have a £5 min and I'd use cash then.

I used to use coinstar machines, but what I do now is take my change with me when I know I'll be using a self service checkout and it's quiet, and use a load of it then. That and occasional bus fares.

[Blueberrymuffint0p]

I do this, not so much out of embarrassment but because some shops have a minimum spend if you're using a card.