Re:Walmart Canada stops accepting Visa cards
by thesimon on Sunday June 12, 2016 @11:23AM
(#11888481)
>I believe this was via debit cards, which had lower fees and are by far the more popular card type in the UK, possibly in the EU as a whole
Indeed. The debit card charged a flat fee per transaction, so giving the customer money instead of paying the bank 0.x% for cashing it in was a logical choice.
In the uk, nearly 20 years ago, the supermarkets started offering "cashback" on every transaction, where you bill would be increased by eg 10 pounds, and in return they'd give you a 10 pound note along with your receipt.
The genius being that they could save huge amounts on their cash handling/management fees by moving the value through the card networks instead.
(I believe this was via debit cards, which had lower fees and are by far the more popular card type in the UK, possibly in the EU as a whole)