TOTM

Surcharging and Honor-All-Cards

Generally, merchants charge the same price regardless of the type of payment instrument used to make purchases. In many jurisdictions, merchants are not allowed to add a surcharge for payment card transactions because of legal (some states in the U.S. do not allow surcharges) or contractual (card networks generally do not allow surcharges) restrictions. But, merchants may be permitted to offer discounts for noncard payments. Economic models of payment cards generally conclude that social welfare improves if merchants set prices based on payment instrument used.

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