Credit card surcharges are an example of what doesn’t show...
Economics
2024-09-24

Credit card surcharges are an example of what doesn’t show up accurately in inflation figures.

Credit card surcharges used to be prohibited by Visa and Mastercard merchant agreements.

As a result of a class action lawsuit settlement a decade ago, both companies permit these surcharges. There definitely has been an increase recently in businesses taking advantage of this option by charging a fee for paying with credit card.

Both Visa and Mastercard still prohibit surcharges on debit card transactions.

Inflation measures capture the menu price increase from $10 to $11 (+10%), but almost everyone is actually paying 3% more on top when they weren't before.

Thats a price increase of 13% not 10%, and that difference matters to a lot of people.