XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.books   
   From: lcraver@home.ca   
      
   On Tue, 27 Aug 2013 09:09:38 -0700, Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy   
    wrote:   
      
   >The merchant services divisions were never in trouble to begin   
   >with. They're *always* profitable. They take a cut when you spend,   
   >they take a cut when you get a refund, they take a cut when you   
   >challenge a bogus transaction *plus* they charge the merchant a   
   >chargeback fee (even if the merchant is determined to be   
   >blameless). The card issuer will do their best to screw the   
   >consumer, but the merchant service *will* screw the merchant out of   
   >their eye teeth. There's good reasons why regulations on merchant   
   >services have tightened up in recent years (to the tune of costing   
   >them billions if free money).   
      
   Credit card companies essentially embody the worst monopolistic /   
   oligopolistic practices of classical economics.   
      
   There's no particular reason they should have to have a percentage of   
   every transaction a merchant does - a simple transaction fee for   
   service should be enough. But they wield considerable power and there   
   are few merchants that have loyal enough customers that would accept   
   breaking loose from them.   
      
   Since a merchant has to cover ALL costs this means society as a whole   
   pays for this quasi-monopoly   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)