16
That cashier at the grocery store called me out on my tap to pay habit
So I'm at the checkout at a Food Lion in Richmond last month, buying a pack of gum and a soda. The total was like $3.47, and I just automatically tapped my card without even looking. The cashier, this older lady maybe 60s, stopped me and said 'you just paid 50 cents extra for that gum because your bank charges per tap.' She showed me on her screen that my credit card had a $0.50 foreign transaction fee even though it was a US bank, just for using tap. Has anyone else caught hidden fees like that on small purchases?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
spencer7821mo ago
Started checking my bank statements and found a $2 fee for using my card at a vending machine last week.
8
olivia_moore1mo ago
Used to roll my eyes at people who said they still carry cash or swipe their chip for small stuff. Figured tap was faster and the banks wouldn't offer it if it cost extra. Then I actually checked my last bank statement after reading this and found six $0.35 "contactless convenience fees" from random gas stations and convenience stores over the past two months. Total came to over two bucks for nothing. Made me realize the older lady at my own grocery store was probably right, some banks really do sneak those charges in on tiny purchases. Now I just swipe chip for anything under five bucks.
4
angela_harris1mo ago
Oh wow, that's frustrating... but I think the cashier might have mixed up a couple things. That $0.50 charge sounds more like a foreign transaction fee from your bank, not a tap to pay fee. Tap to pay itself shouldn't cost extra, it's just a way to use the card. I'd check with your bank directly 'cause some of them do charge a small fee for contactless payments depending on your account type, but it's usually less than that. Makes me wonder if it was a weird glitch or if the cashier was trying to be helpful but got the reason wrong.
2