Convenience Store News wrote an article on MasterCard's new survey which revealed that three-quarters of respondents believed that fees paid by merchants are a cost of doing business.  The war rages on. 



By Barbara Grondin Francella - CSN



September 29, 2009 - DALLAS -- MasterCard Worldwide fired back against convenience store chain 7-Eleven Inc. yesterday, stating the c-store operator's recent consumer petitioning against 'unfair" credit card fees was "misleading" to customers, who actually believe merchants should pay the costs of accepting credit and debit cards.

According to survey results released by MasterCard, three-quarters of respondents believed the fees merchants pay for accepting credit cards are a cost of doing business and merchants should pay those fees.  "These consumers recognize that merchants receive significant benefits from accepting payment cards, and that merchants should pay for those benefits," MasterCard said in a statement.



MasterCard President, U.S. Markets Chris McWilton said: "It's surprising that 7-Eleven, a company that prides itself on convenience, would mount such an aggressive campaign against the most convenient form of payment. Even 7-Eleven itself has said many times that accepting payment cards increases their sales, enhances safety and convenience for store operators, and improves customer satisfaction."



In response, 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris told CSNews Online the c-store chain is "in favor of plastic -- it is a convenience for our customers. We don't oppose transaction fees. We just want them to be fair."

The credit card company called 7-Eleven's petition drive "highly questionable" and said "consumers may have been duped into signing the petition."



While initially many consumers said they would support legislation to regulate merchant fees, that support dramatically shifted to opposition once consumers "understood that it would cost them more through higher fees to use their payment cards," MasterCard said.