While ‘swipe fees’ associated with card payments are largely hidden from consumers, business owners are very aware of them and face difficult decisions about how much they absorb—at the cost of their profit margin—and how much they pass on to customers.
NPR spoke to Victor Garcia, owner of Texas’s SolDias ice cream shops, who says he spent more than $25,000 on credit card fees last year, leading him to post signs at his two shops near Fort Worth asking customers to reconsider if they plan to pay with a card.
