Aussie regulator urged to end 'per person, per flight' CC charges
Sep 20, 2009, 5:48 pm
#1
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Aussie regulator urged to end 'per person, per flight' CC charges
This is an interesting story, considering the gouging excesses of Australia-based domestic airlines, with regard to 'per flight, per person' charges for use of credit cards, since CC charges were deregulated.
Plea to end credit card flight slug [SMH]
THE banking regulator must stop airlines charging multiple credit card fees for single transactions, consumer rights groups have pleaded.
As more passengers buy tickets online, airlines are legally reaping millions of dollars from the fees they charge to process credit card payments.
With "per person, per flight" surcharges for credit payments levied by all domestic carriers, a family of four travelling interstate (return) must pay eight separate credit card fees on one online transaction.
The Consumer Credit Legal Centre said airlines were the worst offenders when it came to credit card fee gouging.
The centre's principal solicitor, Katherine Lane, said the Reserve Bank's decision in 2003 to lift the prohibition on merchants directly passing on to consumers the cost of credit card transaction fees charged by financial institutions had created a "free-for-all".
"The 'per person, per flight' payment is artificial; it's really only one transaction," Ms Lane said. "It is an area where competition is failing and people are getting stung."
The consumer advocate group Choice said it had raised the matter with the Reserve Bank, and asked the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to examine a cap
THE banking regulator must stop airlines charging multiple credit card fees for single transactions, consumer rights groups have pleaded.
As more passengers buy tickets online, airlines are legally reaping millions of dollars from the fees they charge to process credit card payments.
With "per person, per flight" surcharges for credit payments levied by all domestic carriers, a family of four travelling interstate (return) must pay eight separate credit card fees on one online transaction.
The Consumer Credit Legal Centre said airlines were the worst offenders when it came to credit card fee gouging.
The centre's principal solicitor, Katherine Lane, said the Reserve Bank's decision in 2003 to lift the prohibition on merchants directly passing on to consumers the cost of credit card transaction fees charged by financial institutions had created a "free-for-all".
"The 'per person, per flight' payment is artificial; it's really only one transaction," Ms Lane said. "It is an area where competition is failing and people are getting stung."
The consumer advocate group Choice said it had raised the matter with the Reserve Bank, and asked the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to examine a cap
MasterCard and Visa said they were concerned about excessive surcharges and had raised it with the Reserve.
Sep 20, 2009, 5:56 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2006
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Yeah, some of the fees you all talk about are crazy. I know we indirectly pay it in the US, but since the vast majority of tickets in the US are charged it pretty much just part of the ticket price.
I know cash is more common in Australia for daily stuff, but seems like you are getting hosed in CC fees.
I know cash is more common in Australia for daily stuff, but seems like you are getting hosed in CC fees.
Sep 20, 2009, 6:45 pm
#3
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About time this was investigated. The $ credit card fees are completely out of line (ie much higher) than the costs incurred. It is particularly offensive when they are unavoidable by non-Australians (not eligible to use BPay on Qantas tickets for example).