The government charges a fee to use a credit card, but you cant!

Some businesses pass on a fee to their customers for them to pay with a credit card. Others offer special incentives for you to pay with cash. Both of these practices are not allowed under Visa and MasterCard regulations.

But, when you pay your utility bill or pay the government in any way, there is almost always a surcharge. Why do government organizations blatantly disregard this regulation.

The fee is 2.49% of the payment amount for this service; a minimum $1.00 fee will be applied. You will be notified of the fee amount before you complete the transaction, and have the option of changing your mind if you decide not to use a credit card.

The simple answer is that government agencies don’t care about regulations from Visa and MasterCard. Visa and MasterCard haven’t lifted these regulations for the government. The government has simple passed their own overriding regulations which state; government agencies can charge a surcharge or have a minimum requirement to accept your credit card as a form of payment. Pretty ridiculous act, that in my mind undermines Visa and MasterCard. It doesn’t quite seem right that the government can override a companies regulations to use its services, at the expense of their customers.