Insane amount Aussies are paying every year in hidden fees to use their debit ... trends now
A consumer expert has revealed how shoppers are being hit with hidden surcharges to use their debit cards in store costing them as much as $140 in fees every year.
Finder's head of consumer research Graham Cooke told Daily Mail Australia many restaurants, bars and retail businesses are not disclosing their fees to customers.
'People are using credit and debit cards more because of the increased availability of EFTPOS machines,' he said on Wednesday.
'I can get my Big Issue (a magazine sold on the streets by the homeless) with my credit card.'
Price comparison website Canstar revealed in February total fees went up $400million last year to a whopping $4billion. Australians are estimated to be spending an average of $140 in hidden fees.
The costs are one of the many reasons more Australians are turning off card payments and voicing their concerns about a cashless soceity.
Last Tuesday, a cashless movement launched Cash Out Day where queues of residents were seen standing outside banks as they waited to withdraw money.
A consumer expert has revealed how shoppers are being hit with hidden surcharges to use their debit cards in store costing them as much as $140 in fees every year
Using credit and debit cards to make purchases when out and about costs Australians a staggering $1billion a year
The most popular way to pay with card is tap-and-go, which accounts for 95 per cent of in person transactions, and is the most expensive.
While inserting a card into an Eftpos machine typically costs a merchant less than 0.5 per cent per transaction using contactless Visa and Mastercard payment can amount to 0.5 to 1 per cent each time for debit cards and 1per cent to 1.5 per cent for credit cards.
On a purchase of $100 the average cost added is 28c for EFTPOS, 52c for using the Mastercard network, 47c for using Visa and a whopping $1.88 for digital payments provider Square.
While some larger businesses absorb these costs into the price of their goods and services many smaller ones lump customers with the bank fees.
Even some bigger businesses charge for using plastic.
While Coles and Woolworths supermarkets absorb fees into their prices, discount retailer Aldi charges a small standard fee on all card transactions.
Mr Cooke said it was 'kind of impossible to use plastic in Australia and not encounter one of these fees'.
A small business owner described the
