28 December 2012

Eftpos ridiculousness

| Madam Cholet
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Monsieur Cholet decided that we should take Master Cholet to do a spot of swimming on Boxing Day. We decided to give Woden pool a try for the first time, seeing as Erindale was closed and Tuggeranong centre never looks like it gets the once over with a wet cloth.

Had no cash on us, so took a punt that it would take Eftpos, and resolved that we would go and get cash if needed. Checked out the website before hand, but it gave us no idea either way.

Upon arrival I noted the Eftpos signage and breathed a sigh of relief but was very quickly informed that expenditure of $30 was required to use Eftpos or credit card. Whilst the chap on the counter said he would process our slightly over $10 fee electronically this once, he took exception when I suggested that $30 is a bit steep to hold customers to in this age of the cashless society. $30 by the way at Woden is the equivalent to about 5 adults swimming.

He went on to inform me that electronic transactions are no good when you have lots of people waiting to enter the establishment. To which I responded that if can manage it then perhaps they too could consider reducing the limit in the interests of customer service. How long for heavens sake does an electronic transaction take? 30 seconds?

This is not the first time I have encountered retailers and service providers in this town who have odd policies over what they will and will not accept by way of electronic payment, and by odd I mean not the standard and mostly accepted $10 limit. A newsagent in town close to my office used to only accept cash for bus tickets. And that was over $20 a pop or more each time. Needless to say I avoided his business.

It’s not a problem to carry cash most of the time and if I have it I will use it and obviously one can always avoid such retailers, but just wondering if in this climate they can be afford I be so choosy.

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Madam Cholet9:19 pm 30 Dec 12

schmeah said :

Rangi said :

So he let you do the transaction, that was under their limit, but you continued to whinge and hassle him….nice

+1

Sounds like the guy did you a nice favour and instead of running with it accordingly, started suggesting business model improvements.

Yes, he did me a favour…just the once mind you, and as I said, on a subsequent trip I took lovely $50 dollar notes, but the thing is, it’s a dumb ass policy, and I feel as a consumer of their services that something needed to be said. A couple of comments on here have revealed that Woden pool is not exactly top of the pops. And also revealed that others, like myself who live in this modern age expect retailers and service providers to do so as well. Heck, if the plumber who comes to my house to install a
dishwasher or change a washer can carry an Eftpos machine, then the Woden pool can get with it too.

Don’t tell me that you, user of RA, don’t get pee’d off once in a while and let someone know of something that may assist?

Retailers moaneth not if your services are not up to standard. If only you could swim on the Internet.

Instant Mash9:00 pm 30 Dec 12

Stevian said :

Instant Mash said :

A few weeks ago I got into a heated argument with that bloke, simply because he refused to pay 10 cents for a plastic bag yet tried to take one anyway.

Thought about clogging his pool filter with them. Jerk.

Suggest you adjust the pronoun to identify the real thief/Jerk

Good point haha. The bloke who runs Woden pool.

c_c™ said :

arescarti42 said :

I appreciate that Mastercard/Visa slug merchants for using electronic payment, but I personally hate carrying around cash, and as such avoid businesses with EFTPOS minimums.

Short of it is you’re lazy but don’t want to pay for convenience.
Because cash is soooo heavy to cart around.

The very fact that I buy stuff with my card demonstrates that I am indeed willing to pay for convenience.

Cash is a total pain in the arse, it’s heavy, bulky, you can run out of it, you can lose it, it can get stolen, you have to go and get it from the ATM, and it is slow to use. The alternative is a single plastic card which never runs out of money, doesn’t matter if I lose it or it gets stolen, creates a paper trail for when I tally my expenses, takes seconds to buy stuff with, and I don’t even have to take it out of my wallet.

Frustrated said :

You have to laugh at those posters criticising people not using cash.

Plastic cards were invented to replace cash since what the late 70s/80s.

Some of you need to get with the modern times, and thats including the banks and businesses who claim they need to charge fees to use them.

A a chinese restuarant recently the line went down when I went to pay – they couldn’t take paymeent at all (no manual slips left, apparently).

Cash solved the problem, as it generally does.

Frustrated said :

You have to laugh at those posters criticising people not using cash.

Plastic cards were invented to replace cash since what the late 70s/80s.

Some of you need to get with the modern times, and thats including the banks and businesses who claim they need to charge fees to use them.

You’re not very smart. You’ll find card were invented to enable the use of automatic cash machines, form which cash is withdrawn.

The prospects of using it as an alternative payment method at the point of sale came later. I remember Coles running ads in the 90s promoting their massive innovation of having EFTPOS terminals at their checkouts. I still remember the days when each checkout had a manual card imprint device.

Believe it or not businesses have come a long way. Many now have terminals, and now many are getting contactless payments. But for small transactions and particularly at low margin businesses, in the absence of paywave, cash is still best.

I HATE cards!

I have to double and triple check that I haven’t typed in the wrong numbers. If I lose a docket or if it gets wet and damaged I will struggle to balance the till. People who use cards on small purchases (like $8) would otherwise often have paid with coins or small notes and we definitely need those coming in to the till. If there’s a big queue at the counter the fact that EFT takes maybe 10-15 seconds longer counts as minutes lost before long. With money in your wallet you know how much you have to spend but when people need to get out their phones and transfer cash between accounts again it wastes time.

Just gimme a fifty and I’ll give you eight back. Job done. Have a nice day.

Rangi said :

So he let you do the transaction, that was under their limit, but you continued to whinge and hassle him….nice

+1

Sounds like the guy did you a nice favour and instead of running with it accordingly, started suggesting business model improvements.

You have to laugh at those posters criticising people not using cash.

Plastic cards were invented to replace cash since what the late 70s/80s.

Some of you need to get with the modern times, and thats including the banks and businesses who claim they need to charge fees to use them.

Instant Mash said :

A few weeks ago I got into a heated argument with that bloke, simply because he refused to pay 10 cents for a plastic bag yet tried to take one anyway.

Thought about clogging his pool filter with them. Jerk.

Suggest you adjust the pronoun to identify the real thief/Jerk

Zambreros in Braddon also do not have EFTPOS facilities. You have to go across to the service station to use the ATM. Pretty sure they don’t have any warning signs either.

Instant Mash4:06 am 30 Dec 12

A few weeks ago I got into a heated argument with that bloke, simply because he refused to pay 10 cents for a plastic bag yet tried to take one anyway.

Thought about clogging his pool filter with them. Jerk.

The Tuggers pool do not even accept eftpos the two times I tried to pay them…

c_c™ said :

arescarti42 said :

I appreciate that Mastercard/Visa slug merchants for using electronic payment, but I personally hate carrying around cash, and as such avoid businesses with EFTPOS minimums.

Short of it is you’re lazy but don’t want to pay for convenience.
Because cash is soooo heavy to cart around.

Seriously, you’re equating not liking carrying around cash with the weight of it? Congratulations, this post has now officially jumped the shark.

I’d be happy to pay for the convenience of using EFTPOS. It’d make life a heap easier if instead of the stupid ‘$10 minimum’ signs, I could choose to cover the 5c fee myself, and pay with a card. Because cash is annoying. My bank – Suncorp, who I use because of my home loan – have very few ATM’s I can use for free. Cash often ends up costing me money – and a hell of a lot more than the 5 cents a business has to wear when I use EFTPOS to purchase something.

I have noticed in recent times more businesses with EFTPOS signs on their windows, advertising the fact they have no minimum purchases. I don’t know whether there is any incentive from EFTPOS to do this, but it’s appreciated, in the same way I know I can head to Coles or Woolworths and buy whatever I need, and pay with a card without needing to worry about how much it will cost.

I really hope that it won’t be too long before this is normal, and cash can go the way of the dodo. I’m sure generations of 24 hour service station employees would agree.

EFT transactions just seem like a no brainer from my point of view. There is less risk of mishandling and theft and it is quicker that having people diving through their wallet/purse/bag for change (especially if using Tap and Go technology). The fees are relatively minimal if you push enough through it (eg 5c for debit and 0.7% for credit) and are offset by the benefits gained.

As for the “but it is just so easy to carry cash” argument. I disagree. The ability to carry one single piece of plastic that can be used for all transactions is easier than carrying a range of notes and coins which can be heavy and bulky.

Frankly, the only genuine reason for a business to refuse to accept cards is if they run two sets of books and that isn’t something I particularly want to support.

Spykler said :

Martlark said :

I always buy my chocolate bar with Amex at 7-Eleven, and use if for Fredo frogs at Coles. Cash is for drug dealers, tax cheating tradies and centre link faudsters.

Cash is so passe’- once King Fook Chinese Restaurant in Florey entered the modern world and finally relented and installed an EFTPOS terminal, I suspected that was the death knell for the folding stuff.

Erindale takeaway still only accepts cash

c_c™ said :

Short of it is you’re lazy but don’t want to pay for convenience.
Because cash is soooo heavy to cart around.

lol, true facts 😀

arescarti42 said :

I appreciate that Mastercard/Visa slug merchants for using electronic payment, but I personally hate carrying around cash, and as such avoid businesses with EFTPOS minimums.

Short of it is you’re lazy but don’t want to pay for convenience.
Because cash is soooo heavy to cart around.

I’m sorry but for the life of me I cannot understand all this hoo ha about EFTPOS limits. Unhygienic change rooms, yes;overflowing rubbish bins, yes; discriminatory practices against children, yes; but the fact that they encorage cash rather than card (possibly toreduce tax???) and then to spend a good part of the day whingeing about it, whether OP or someone else…….. really! hopefully Master Cholet can swim.

Spykler said :

Martlark said :

I always buy my chocolate bar with Amex at 7-Eleven, and use if for Fredo frogs at Coles. Cash is for drug dealers, tax cheating tradies and centre link faudsters.

Cash is so passe’- once King Fook Chinese Restaurant in Florey entered the modern world and finally relented and installed an EFTPOS terminal, I suspected that was the death knell for the folding stuff.

Gold! 🙂

I used to live in Florey, and bought a lot of takeaway from King Fook, with cash. I went there for the first time in a few years with the family last week, and lo-and-bloody-behold, they had EFTPOS. The times certainly are a-changin’!

Martlark said :

I always buy my chocolate bar with Amex at 7-Eleven, and use if for Fredo frogs at Coles. Cash is for drug dealers, tax cheating tradies and centre link faudsters.

Cash is so passe’- once King Fook Chinese Restaurant in Florey entered the modern world and finally relented and installed an EFTPOS terminal, I suspected that was the death knell for the folding stuff.

Try taking a taxi with a cabcharge machine. 10% is charged to the customers card.

thy_dungeonman said :

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

I guess the moral of story is never go to Phillip pool?

I called up Phillip pool the other week since they were looking for kiosk attendants in the newspaper. They told me that they actually wanted a middle aged woman (which I am not) and hung up.

They still have the sign up in the kiosk. Call them again and when they say that, tell them it’s discrimination and that you will report them. Or tell them you are a middle age woman and that you are offended that they obviously thought you were a man!

kea said :

It’s the closest pool to where I live but has been on my black list ever since.

I tried taking my 10 year old after work at the end of last year and they wouldn’t let us in.. it was a stinking hot day and we really wanted to go for a swim.. apparently after 5pm they don’t let kids in..

That sounds like the best thing ever! The worst thing about public pools are all the filthy children pissing in them. This is the one just opposite Westfield Woden, yeah? I should check it out.

s-s-a said :

The other super thing about Phillip Pool (at least when I last considered going there) is that there is no concession rate and you have to pay for infants. The one and only time I went there the pool was ok but the change rooms gross.

It’s the closest pool to where I live but has been on my black list ever since.

I tried taking my 10 year old after work at the end of last year and they wouldn’t let us in.. it was a stinking hot day and we really wanted to go for a swim.. apparently after 5pm they don’t let kids in..

The other super thing about Phillip Pool (at least when I last considered going there) is that there is no concession rate and you have to pay for infants. The one and only time I went there the pool was ok but the change rooms gross.

It’s the closest pool to where I live but has been on my black list ever since.

I’m constantly amazed at the number of businesses that refuse to take your cash, simply because it’s presented the wrong way. We keep hearing about how tough retailers have it, yet when you try to buy something from them using a card, it’s too much trouble.

As mentioned before, the eftpos fee is something like 5 cents. For the normal $10 minimum you see so much of, that’s 0.5% of the purchase price. Lets say it takes half an hour to count the days takings, take the cash to the bank, and deposit it. You’re probably – being conservative – looking at $20 in staff costs to do that work. That’s the equivalent of 400 eftpos purchases.

The question I have, is why cash isn’t the payment method with a surcharge these days! Employee petty theft, robberies, counting and banking costs…seems to me that 5 cents per transaction is a bit of a bargain to reduce those risks – especially when you’ve already got a fixed cost to have access to the terminal, and choose to not use it.

I always buy my chocolate bar with Amex at 7-Eleven, and use if for Fredo frogs at Coles. Cash is for drug dealers, tax cheating tradies and centre link faudsters.

Madam Cholet said :

Rangi said :

So he let you do the transaction, that was under their limit, but you continued to whinge and hassle him….nice

Where did I say that I whinged and hassled him?

Dialogue is a foreign concept to some.

Madam Cholet8:37 pm 28 Dec 12

Rangi said :

So he let you do the transaction, that was under their limit, but you continued to whinge and hassle him….nice

Where did I say that I whinged and hassled him?

In many cases the minimum EFTPOS amounts are set with the express intention of upselling to people making small purchases.

thy_dungeonman7:59 pm 28 Dec 12

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

I guess the moral of story is never go to Phillip pool?

I called up Phillip pool the other week since they were looking for kiosk attendants in the newspaper. They told me that they actually wanted a middle aged woman (which I am not) and hung up.

I really despise the EFTPOS minimums. I know some people won’t like to hear this, but in the US and in New Zealand, there are no minimums. How come the Kiwis can do it but Australia can’t?

When we first moved here, we got caught out several times with no cash. I ordered a salad from someplace in the Tuggeranong mall. They made it up for me and then when I tried to pay with my card, they said, “Cash only.” I said, “What do you mean, cash only? Where’s your sign?” They had no sign that said cash only, but they wanted me to go to the cash machine nearby to take out cash, or else the salad would be wasted. I said, “So are you going to discount the salad by the $2.50 I’m going to have to pay to take out cash?” Of course their answer was no. I told them that since they had no sign and had given no warning, they could eat the cost of the salad and I walked away.

These days, I always carry cash. But I do find it ridiculous that I can’t use my card to pay for stuff in many places, or that they have crazy minimums. Especially because of my experiences elsewhere (in the US and NZ).

screaming banshee said :

My merchant charges are 5c for each eftpos transaction and 0.64% of any MasterCard/visa transaction. Regardless of whether its $10 or $10,000, it’s 0.64%. I understand fees for Amex because their merchant fees are ridiculous but considering the reduction in risk associated with handling less cash and the reduction in counting/banking costs I think it’s pretty rude to be charging a surcharge on the non-Amex transactions.

As of 1st Jan retailers can no longer “make a profit” from eftpos transaction fees. They can only charge you what the bank will actually charge them. Eg the 0.64% you mentioned above not the 1.5% most places charge.

This also includes the $7.95 credit card transaction fee that airlines and ticket agencies charge for purchasing stuff online.

How_Canberran6:25 pm 28 Dec 12

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd said :

I guess the moral of story is never go to Phillip pool?

Spot on!

An expenditure of $30 require to use EFTPOS? Walk away!
Lousy service in a shop? Walk away!
“Your call is important to us”. Hang up!

Canberra retailers will never get the message with consumers suffering these imposts. Blubbering about the experience on RA will not help either. And dont get me started on ‘no bicycle bells’.

How Canberran

So he let you do the transaction, that was under their limit, but you continued to whinge and hassle him….nice

Madam Cholet said :

Back at Philip pool right now and this time with nice crisp 50 dollar note. And not a queue of desperate swimmers in sight.

LOL I hope you’re timing how long it will take them to change a Golden Drink Voucher; make sure you report back to us.

I don’t think it makes a significant enough difference to concern ourselves over the time involved. Even cash has the drawback that every few minutes at a busy place the attendant needs to stop and crack one of those little change thingies open, which always seems to happen right before it’s my turn to use my paywave card. I’ll admit to getting frustrated, but I also feel guilty for my frustration 30 seconds later when I’m on my way.

I think a $10 minimum is reasonable, anything higher than that is obnoxious. But the worst offenders are those who charge a percentage as a surcharge; that’s just pure extortion! I’ll happily pay another dollar for the convenience of not having to have cash on hand, but every time someone stings me over $20 for a $2000 transaction for using a card, someone gets added to my hate list.

Comic_and_Gamer_Nerd5:27 pm 28 Dec 12

I guess the moral of story is never go to Phillip pool?

Madam Cholet4:47 pm 28 Dec 12

I meant to say “if MacDonalds can manage Eftpos then perhaps they can. ” The word fell off of the screen somehow. Back at Philip pool right now and this time with nice crisp 50 dollar note. And not a queue of desperate swimmers in sight.

screaming banshee4:25 pm 28 Dec 12

My merchant charges are 5c for each eftpos transaction and 0.64% of any MasterCard/visa transaction. Regardless of whether its $10 or $10,000, it’s 0.64%. I understand fees for Amex because their merchant fees are ridiculous but considering the reduction in risk associated with handling less cash and the reduction in counting/banking costs I think it’s pretty rude to be charging a surcharge on the non-Amex transactions.

I thought the minimum was simply due to the amount that the retailer gets charged for using EFTPOS/Credit card?

Under a certain amount, it’s eating into their profits.

I don’t think it’s asking too much for people to have a few physical dollars in their wallet.

I personally hate going to the shops, lining up behind people who use their cards for every little transaction.

Viz. the cafe at the National Library – Bookplate – you can’t put an $18 lunch for one on a card …they make you trudge downstairs and pay $2.50 fee to get some cash out of the ATM …

AFAIK, any retailer that accepts Mastercard/Visa and has a minimum transaction amount is breaching the terms of their contract with Mastercard/Visa (for Mastercard/Visa purchases).

The ones that really piss me off are cafes and the like that display credit card logos, and then only tell you that they have an electronic payment minimum after you’ve eaten.

As for the speed of transactions, in my experience, they vary greatly depending on the POS terminal used. The contactless terminals at my local Coles take literally less than 5 seconds to read the card and process the payment. The ancient looking NAB one at the Subway at the ANU takes probably 15-25 seconds (which is actually a huge delay for a business like that when cash takes maybe 5-10 seconds).

I appreciate that Mastercard/Visa slug merchants for using electronic payment, but I personally hate carrying around cash, and as such avoid businesses with EFTPOS minimums.

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