Iffy Pricing Tactics At The Gas Station

It came to my attention the other week that one of the gas companies in town started charging different prices for cash versus credit transaction. They have two locations - a standalone and one next to another vendor. I haven't seen this done in years because back in the day the companies were charging a premium for paying by credit card. That is (currently) against the merchant account agreements. Businesses are permitted on the other hand to give a discount for cash. You really have to love the schematics of it. The government and college institutions seems to be allowed to bend this rule and charge a convenience fee but that’s a different can of worms.

So here is the inherent question, is the gas station giving a discount for cash like they are allowed or really surcharging for using credit? When the gas station is off by itself the comparison is more difficult.

This morning I was sitting at the "cash/credit the same" station which is across from one of the "cash discount" stations. It's easy to overlook the "cash" indicator on their big sign because that hasn't been the practice in the area for years. Wouldn't you know that the "cash discount" and "cash/credit the same" stations were advertising the same prices on their big roadside signs? That means at the "cash discount" station the price per gallon for credit were more than the "cash/credit the same" competition. So that means one of two thing: a surcharge for credit or the "cash/credit the same" is eating the credit processing fees.

All I can say for sure is that this has definately ruffled feathers in town because it seemed to be snuck in. I know I paid more the other week than I realized. If this is will be the new trend, the one company is not going to be the favorite until the others catch up.

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