Area restaurants adding credit card use charges to offset costs is 'nothing new'

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WSET) — We all use credit cards, whether you're shopping online or you're out and about running day-to-day errands.

But the next time you pay with a card instead of cash, you may end up with a bigger bill.

ABC13 looked into why some local restaurants are adding a charge if you decide to swipe.

"It's a struggle to find ways to save every day and I think this is a significant cost we can save on," Benjamin McGehee said.

McGehee owns Benjamin's Restaurant in Forest.

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He’s one of several local business owners adding a fee for customers that use credit cards.

Eric Terry is the President of the Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Travel Association and said the move is saving some owners big bucks.

"One restauranteur shared with me they own four restaurants and credit card fees had cost them $270,000," Terry said.

Nancy Hubbard is the Dean of the School of Business at the University of Lynchburg.

She said merchants are charged anywhere from 2 to 5% for using a credit card in a transaction.

Hubbard said businesses passing that fee on to customers is nothing new.

"The gas stations started to charge a fee if using a credit card," Hubbard said. "If you try to pay your taxes online with a credit card they will also charge you a fee. They call it a processing fee. It's the same thing."

Brothers Pizza and Grill has had this fee for several years but has run into speed bumps with their new checkout system showing that charge on your bill.

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"When you have a customer that is given a total for their bill or their purchase and then when you present the ticket for them as I said they have two or three dollars added to it, then it poses questions on is this company trying to spam us are they trying to make money off of us," Chris Tanner, an employee at Brothers Pizza and Grill said.

They want customers to know they're not just trying to nickel and dime you. There are guidelines businesses have to follow if they add the fee.

"You're not allowed to do it if that's the only option you have to pay is a credit card," Hubbard said. "And, they also cannot charge more than they're actually being charged."

Business owners like McGehee want to stress that this way they don’t have to raise menu prices across the board.

"We're able to provide the same quality product without having to increase those prices and giving the consumer an option to pay a lower price," McGehee said.