> In the US, credit card companies charge 2.5% - 3% merchant fees on every swipe, and their agreements forbid merchants from passing these costs on to customers.
That's out of date. Since 2013 merchants have been able to surcharge for using credit cards since 2013 (except in places where it is illegal). Here's a Q&A from Visa about this [1].
There are five states (Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine and Massachusetts) where state law makes credit card surcharges illegal.
Even before that they could effectively surcharge by offering a discount for not using a credit card. (That also works in the states that ban surcharges).
That's out of date. Since 2013 merchants have been able to surcharge for using credit cards since 2013 (except in places where it is illegal). Here's a Q&A from Visa about this [1].
There are five states (Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Maine and Massachusetts) where state law makes credit card surcharges illegal.
Even before that they could effectively surcharge by offering a discount for not using a credit card. (That also works in the states that ban surcharges).
[1] https://usa.visa.com/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/surcharging...