If I understand correctly, credit card terms forbid stores from offering two different prices (one for paying with and one for paying without), because if they didn't, some stores would offer a 2-3% discount for cash, and customers would switch to cash. Meanwhile, most people I've spoken with are happy with the system, because they feel like they're getting money back for free through cashback/reward programs, so credit card companies are incentivized to keep increasing their merchant fees so that they can give more money back to their customers. Restaurants/shops that don't accept credit get less customers, and are forced into the system as well. While the government could do something about it, they don't because they can track every credit card transaction (-> tax revenue), but they can't track cash. And cash-paying customers get to pay the 2-3% "credit card tax" on every transaction, which is so ridiculously backward.
If I understand correctly, credit card terms forbid stores from offering two different prices (one for paying with and one for paying without), because if they didn't, some stores would offer a 2-3% discount for cash, and customers would switch to cash. Meanwhile, most people I've spoken with are happy with the system, because they feel like they're getting money back for free through cashback/reward programs, so credit card companies are incentivized to keep increasing their merchant fees so that they can give more money back to their customers. Restaurants/shops that don't accept credit get less customers, and are forced into the system as well. While the government could do something about it, they don't because they can track every credit card transaction (-> tax revenue), but they can't track cash. And cash-paying customers get to pay the 2-3% "credit card tax" on every transaction, which is so ridiculously backward.
I hope Walmart's decision snowballs.