Card Processing Fees As High as 7% in Costa
Rica
Using a credit or debit card in Costa Rica
can be expensive for consumers, as
businesses are faced with the cost of
processing of between 2% and 7% on every
transactions.
The fee is charged by the card processors to
all businesses who want to accept plastic -
debit or credit cards - and charged on every
transaction, which is passed on to consumers
in higher prices, usually hidden in the
final price.
In fact, some retailers have taken to
offering consumers a discount equivalent to
the processing fee for cash purchases.
In many other countries the fees are much
lower on credit card purchases and even
lower for the use of debit cards.
Some bankers in Costa Rica believe the fees
to be too high, while others argue that
lower fees would not be economically viable.
The fee is based on risk. Retail chains like
Wal-Mart (Hipermas, Mas x Menos), for
instance pay the lower discount rate, while
higher risk businesses, like bars and clubs,
pay on the upper end of the scale.
Some businesses like nightclubs (strip bars)
and small businesses cannot obtain a card
processing contract.
The fee is negotiated between the business
and the card processor, which is then
included in the cost of the item or service
sold. And there is no distinction made
between debit and credit cards.
The Banco Nacional (BN) and the Banco de
Costa Rica (BCR) lead the market in debit
cards with 2.5 million customers (1.3 for
the BN and 1.2 for the BCR) and some 35.000
affiliated businesses between them.
Costa Ricans have gotten accustomed to using
plastic in just about every transaction,
irrelevant of the purchase price. It is not
uncommon to see someone pull out their
plastic to buy a soda at the supermarket.
Part of that is culture, hip to use plastic,
with some card issuers making debit cards
identical to debit cards. Also many
employees receive their paycheck by direct
bank deposit, so using a debit card is a
practical way to spend.
Some retailers are affiliated with several
card processors, choosing the best processor
dependent on the type of card used, one for
Visa, the other for Mastecard, yet another
for a debit card and then depending on the
issuer.
In some stores a bank of "datafonos"
(electronic card processing machines) are
right next to the cash register. |
