Is it legal to charge a 5% fee on purchases paid by credit card?

Warehouses, stores and business premises have been implementing the possibility for customers to pay by credit card instead of cash. Although this facilitates the transactions of buy and sellmany times when users approach to make the payment they are asked that the additional chargewhich involves using digital media, is assumed by themselves.

Thus, buyers should pay up to 5% extra if they decide to use a card. Given this, the question arises as to whether or not it is legal to make this type of charge. In the following note we clarify this doubt.

Is it legal to charge 5% in additional payment?

According to him National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi), in the Consumer Protection and Defense Code, the premises or businesses that apply this additional balance They must notify customers as soon as they enter the establishment. This can be done through visible signs or another mode of communication that allows the user to know about these conditions.

In this way, it is not allowed for buyers to find out about this balance only at the time of paying, but they must have that information beforehand so that they can decide whether to make their purchase in that store or look for one where no additional percentage is applied for pay with cards.

“In the event that the supplier differentiates the price of the product or service based on the means of payment, such as credit cards or others, said information must be made known to the consumer, prominently, in a visible and accessible manner on the premises. or commercial establishment, through posters, notices or other similar. In the event of supplier default, consumers cannot be forced to pay additional sums, the price set for the product or service must be respected”, can be read in article 7 of the Consumer Protection and Defense Code.

Along these lines, Walter Eyzaguirre, an economist specializing in financial educationhighlighted that when stores, wineries or businesses implement the card payment method, it is because they can increase their sales and benefit their stores.

“If a winery accepts a credit card, it is because it has the possibility of selling to a greater number of people. Establishments that accept cards do not do so to benefit the customer, but to be able to increase its range of public”he specified to The Republic.

Likewise, he indicated that the commissions for using operators such as mastercard, American, Visa, among others are usually 3.5% or have very low fixed amounts and it is recommended that they be assumed by the same premises.

“Today, wineries and entrepreneurs have to adapt to modernity, to the use of digital channels and how this is changing our way of looking at money and, above all, expanding the public,” pointed out the specialist. “As another strategy, for example, many wineries are also implementing the use of Yape or Plin because when they pay you there is no commission involved,” he concluded.