Minimum amount required

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Earlier this evening, I went to a shopping mall to go to dinner and a movie. I had also decided to purchase some candy and soda in the mall's dollar store since the candy in the movies has gotten so outrageously expensive. So I picked up a few things and put them on the counter and whipped out my debit card to pay for them. However, the clerk/manager/owner told me that he could not accept my card because he has set a minimum of $5.00. I looked at him and accused him of that rule being a rip off. I then put the candy back and had attempted to put the soda back but he grabbed the can away from me and snapped by mentioning that he would be putting the soda away. I then walked out.

I had also spoken to a few people later this evening about that situation and they had told me that what he was doing was against the law and that I should report him for setting that minimum. So I had reported him to the better buisness bureau.

Has anyone else dealt with someone like him?

That minimum is so that they don't lose money because of the card processing fee from the credit/debit card company. It's quite common in smaller businesses that can't afford to lose money on any transactions.

They have a lower markup on the items than the fee charged by Visa/MC (who refuse to accept donations for WikiLeaks, btw). The store would lose money if they sold you less than $5 worth of merch. The Visa/MC rules do require them to make the sale anyway, if you choose to press the issue.

I've only heard of this once before - in a family-owned deli. It made me really confused at the time too, though it makes sense in hindsight as to why they do it. I ended up doing the opposite of you: I bought more so it'd be over $5, since the card was my only payment option. But they were nice about it where I was and apologized. The dollar store attendant sounds really impolite from how you describe it.

I just wish places like that would have a sign up, to warn customers, like they do in most establishments that don't take checks.

That happened to me the other day, they had a sign up, but I was only like $0.40 short so I thought they would be OK with it - they weren't: I ended up buying a pack of gum or something to put me over the top.

My local variety store doesn't have a minimum amount for debit cards, but they charge you 25-cents on each debit transaction below some set minimum amount (not sure if it is $5). I think this makes more sense than outright refusing a $4.99 sale.

He was very rude and almost watched everyone like a hawk that stepped into the store as if we were dangerous and it made me really nervous. There was a sign up but I did not see it until he pointed it out to me and also got really rude when he told me. I then replied to him that what he was doing happened to be a rip off. I then put the candy back and had attempted to put the soda back but he grabbed the can with an attitude and said that he would put it away himself since I had told him off.

As for reporting him, I decided to have them look into the situation to see if he has done anything that was against the law because $5.00 for using a debit in a store like that is a lot of money.

i hate this.
and it's always at shops with no ATMs within a ten mile radius

I have another location that does this golden rule with a minimum of $3.00 on the debit/credit card which is at a gas station down the street from where I happen to live. Even they were mildly rude about it by saying, "Can't you read, the sign is right there," or something like that. In response, I have not been back to that gas station since and I will not be back at that dollar store either if they are going to act like that. I was pretty angry and said some things that I did not mean to say at him and walked off to find my buisness elsewhere.


I had also spoken with a friend over the phone a few minutes ago who said that that a minimum that high was crazy.

I totally get the frustration but I agree that the policy isn't to be unfair. Each establishment has its own bottom line issues. 5$ is pretty standard around here. Many small businesses don't accept credit or debit where I live because the cost of the machines is just too high. Personally I'm a cash girl. It insures I maintain my budget.

I think the $5.00 minimum is reasonable if there's no extra charge for using an ATM card. A lot of stores actually charge you as much as an extra dollar just for using ATM. Personally I think it's bad business to have any charge or to refuse any amount on an ATM card. Just the convenience of being able to use ATM without the restrictions and extra costs will actually make for more sales. I tend to avoid stores that won't take my ATM card, and I will also eventually avoid stores if they continue to charge for it's use. I don't think that particular store is doing anything illegal though, and the BBB doesn't enforce compliance to any laws. They're more interested in fraudulent business practices, and they can make things difficult for their members if they're caught. I frankly find the BBB to be rather useless in such disputes. Sometimes they have a tendency to side with the business owner. That's how they are able to get businesses to join. And if that particular store isn't a member, they can't do much if anything.

What I'm wondering is if the movie theatre gave you any hassles for not purchasing their junk food.

There are 2 things you might not be considering on the merchant's side. First is that commodities like soda and candy often have miserable margins(the markup between what they pay for it and what they charge) so for a $5 purchase it isn't uncommon for them to make less than $0.50 in total profit. Second, when you use a card, the card company charges the merchant at least twice for the transaction. First is a set fee known as the authorization or transaction fee. This is usually between $0.05 and $0.25 per transaction regardless of the size of the purchase. The second is the discount rate. This is a cost the card company charges the merchant as a function of the size of the transaction itself and can range from 1% to 10%+ depending on how often customers request refunds and whether the company has a physical terminal or not. Also this fee tends to be higher for debit transactions than credit since the bank won't make any interest off the purchase. There are others depending on the company the merchant uses, but those 2 are standard across the industry. So the odds are the dollar store would be losing money on the transaction if they processed less than $5 on the terminal. If you wish to sue anyone, it should be the merchant account companies for forcing such onerous terms on people in order to accept cards.

In the US a merchant has the right to refuse service to anyone. We would sometimes be denied purchase of drinks at a bar or small town market if they thought we were illegals when we were kids. He didn't have to be a jerk about it though and could have handled the situation with more tack. On that issue, I would have reported him to the owner/manager for his poor handling of the situation.