If you pay for your purchases by credit card, a small detail risks increasing the bill further.

You have gotten into the habit of paying for most of your purchases through it. But a small recent change that you probably didn’t see on your bank card has significant financial consequences, both for you and for merchants.

You may not have noticed it, but the CB logo began to gradually disappear from bank cards in France from 2020.

This development has raised questions and concerns about its impact on daily transactions. The reasons for this disappearance are multiple, but one of the main ones is linked to the costs associated with maintaining the CB logo. Card issuers have opted for cleaner designs, without this iconic symbol, to reduce card production and updating costs.

But why can’t you find this little logo on your cards anymore? Who pays the bill? How to limit costs?

Small causes…

This change in the use of bank cards is mainly explained by the growing popularity of online and mobile payments which favor the Visa and Mastercard networks. The rise of neobanks and online banks which are not linked to the CB network has also contributed to this development.

Clearly, when this logo is no longer stamped on a card, it is associated with other international banking networks such as Visa or Mastercard.

Merchants have to pay higher fees when payments are made on the Visa or Mastercard networks. And the bill is steep. “ Other networks cost the merchant up to 10 times more than the CB network », explains Dominique Schelcher, CEO of Système U.

…big consequences

For once, the average consumer, at the end of the chain of purchasing power, is not the only one to pay the bill for the removal of this famous logo.

Merchants will face an increase in commissions charged on transactions. This increase in costs could be reflected in the prices of products and services offered to customers.

Customers who will have to adapt to new payment methods and perhaps bear additional costs, sharing the cake with merchants.

How to limit costs?

To protect consumers, some merchants are looking for solutions to mitigate the impact of the increase in commissions on prices. For example, they can negotiate more favorable conditions with their bank or favor cash payments, which are not subject to commissions.

In addition, merchants have the opportunity to offer their customers payment alternatives, such as contactless mobile payment applications. These solutions generally allow transactions to be carried out at a lower cost compared to bank cards without a CB logo, which helps to limit the impact on prices.

Source: The Net Journal