April 9, 2007

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  NEWS: In C-Ville, Some Still Won't Take Plastic

  A recent story by the Daily Progress newspaper of Charlottesville, North Carolina provided insight into one microcosm undergoing the very contemporary issue of whether to accept the ubiquity of plastic in today's society. The article profiled several local businesses that still – yes, in this day and age – do not accept credit/debit cards as a form of payments. The cash-or-check only brigade featured several independently-owned cafes and restaurants, small retail stores, and the city's downtown hourly parking garages.
  
  Reasons not to take plastic are many and compelling, say the owners/operators of these businesses. Fees are the main concern – on top of the commissions charged by credit card companies, other charges factor in to the cost. The telephone companies charge a full dime apiece to upload and download credit transactions, and the clearinghouse probably matches that. Add the normal five cents for processing, and owners are shelling out thirty-five cents per transaction. And these fees have steadily increased – the owner of a coffee shop that does not take plastic claims that it has leapt from $400 to $1,600 monthly since the time when he stopped accepting cards a few years ago. Business owners concerned with volume don't want to risk alienating customers by raising prices in accordance with these costs – they'd rather run the risk of turning off those who don't carry cash. The time spent in processing cards is also said to eat into the efficiency of serving everyone – people don't want to wait in line for several minutes while cards process, say owners.
  
  These businesses are bucking the clear trend - nationally, consumers are forgoing cash in favor of credit and debit card payments, according to a two-year study sponsored by the American Bankers Association. Between 2004 and 2006, 45 percent of consumers claimed to be using less cash than they used to, according to the poll. The data came to the conclusion that the decline of cash in favor of plastic will continue over the next two years, as well.
  
  
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