You can do it with credit cards as well. The trick is that the merchant must frame it as a “cash discount” and not a “card surcharge”. This means that the prices posted are the “full price” and then you can discount it on the cash.

There’s been a lot of back and forth on this over recent years, but this is my understanding of what’s currently allowed. Could change tomorrow if Visa changes their mind.

The FTC's website clearly says the merchant is free to offer a discount for different methods of payment, such as cash or debit card, so I don't think Visa has any power here.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/new...

> long as vendors are free to offer different pricing based on payment method

My understanding is that the merchant agreement the vendor has with the credit card company prohibits that.

FTC website says different:

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/new...

>Discounts to Customers A PCN cannot stop you from offering your customers a discount or another incentive for using a certain method of payment, as long as you offer it to all your customers and disclose the offer clearly and conspicuously. For example, you can offer your customers a discount or a coupon if they pay with cash or a debit card rather than a credit card.

"As long as vendors are free to offer different pricing based on payment method, it should resolve itself."

Credit card companies do everything they can to block this.

I was under the assumption that this is still in effect:

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/new...

>Discounts to Customers A PCN cannot stop you from offering your customers a discount or another incentive for using a certain method of payment, as long as you offer it to all your customers and disclose the offer clearly and conspicuously. For example, you can offer your customers a discount or a coupon if they pay with cash or a debit card rather than a credit card.

There was just a lawsuit about that, and it went... poorly.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/supreme-cour...

I think that only applies to other credit cards, but not debit cards or cash:

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/new...

>Discounts to Customers A PCN cannot stop you from offering your customers a discount or another incentive for using a certain method of payment, as long as you offer it to all your customers and disclose the offer clearly and conspicuously. For example, you can offer your customers a discount or a coupon if they pay with cash or a debit card rather than a credit card.

Still, that kills any incentive for fee competition between cards - they all share the benefits of being convenient and face little pressure to change the fee structure.

But it’s not stopping the merchants from offering discounts for debit and cash, debit cards of which have capped fees and are very cheap to process.

Merchants are choosing not to give those customers discounts.