Of course you can rationalize that 3% is a reasonable cost and approximately a wash compared to the expense of dealing with cash. But if you're a small coffe house, and sell a $3.00 coffee, and are paying a typical 2.9% + $0.30 per charge, that $0.30 is ten percent of your sale. That's a huge cost.
Transaction fees need to come way down for plastic to beat cash on small sales.
Transaction fees need to come way down for plastic to beat cash on small sales.