Anyone notice network shutdowns?

[fla4fun]

If that were the case, store owners would steal cards and ring up massive fraudulent purchases on purpose. Part of the agreement is that the merchant is absolutely responsible for verifying who is using a card.

Yes, but if they can prove they did verify ID, then they don’t lose the funds. I used to handle the credit card disputes for our company. We had a specific policy in place for verifying the identity of the customer against the credit card, and there were escalating tiers of verification based on the size of the transaction. We received many disputes claiming fraud or stolen card, but we very rarely lost a case due to our documentation (maybe one case a year, or less). I worked in the hospitality industry, which is rife with attempted credit card fraud, so we knew we needed a good plan in place or it would be brutal.

 

[dreamin_disney]

I had this issue happen to me at the Salt Lake City airport gas station. I was returning a rental car before my flight departed - the "system was down." I did have cash and they refused to use it. The "whole" system was down and they would not accept cash due to the system being down. Ugh. I had to drive off campus to find a gas station but fortunately did have plenty of time for my flight.

i would have been so stressed out

 

[_19disnA]

I think it is good planning to have some amount of cash at home and carry some with you when out shopping. How much relates to your normal buying patterns and how inconvenient it might be if you couldn't use your credit cards. Power can go out during a major weather event (snow storm/hurricane/tornado/etc.) so it can happen in various places. I find making small purchases with cash to be more convenient. I have never been in a store where the payment system suddenly goes down, but it certainly can happen for a number of different reasons.

How much merchants pay (or don't pay) for processing credit purchases to me is a different topic. I am a customer when I go shopping and don't overly dwell on how specific businesses choose to run their business.

 

[princesscinderella]

I think it is good planning to have some amount of cash at home and carry some with you when out shopping. How much relates to your normal buying patterns and how inconvenient it might be if you couldn't use your credit cards. Power can go out during a major weather event (snow storm/hurricane/tornado/etc.) so it can happen in various places. I find making small purchases with cash to be more convenient. I have never been in a store where the payment system suddenly goes down, but it certainly can happen for a number of different reasons.

How much merchants pay (or don't pay) for processing credit purchases to me is a different topic. I am a customer when I go shopping and don't overly dwell on how specific businesses choose to run their business.

The simple solution to the cc fees is just raise prices the 4% and the customer doesn’t realize they cc fees are being bundled in.

 

[tvguy]

The simple solution to the cc fees is just raise prices the 4% and the customer doesn’t realize they cc fees are being bundled in.

Oh, yes we do.

 

[Shanna-like-Banana]

There have been massive processing systems down in our area for two days now in South Carolina. Costco, Walgreens, Gas Stations, etc cannot take payments. Sams club you could only use the Scan & Go app to pay in the store, not even taking cash, since all their tills are internet based. I did hear Costco was getting up today with taking cash or CHECK

 

[dreamin_disney]

There have been massive processing systems down in our area for two days now in South Carolina. Costco, Walgreens, Gas Stations, etc cannot take payments. Sams club you could only use the Scan & Go app to pay in the store, not even taking cash, since all their tills are internet based. I did hear Costco was getting up today with taking cash or CHECK

Wow two days. Is it due to weather?

 

[Communicore1991]

Going back to the OP's questions, I typically try to have ~$100 in cash in my wallet at all times. I use my credit cards 95% of the time (I pretty much only buy lottery tickets or small <$5 purchases with cash). I also carry an emergency $50 behind my driver's license just in case the networks go down and only cash is being accepted.

While it may take longer for a cashier to process my transaction, I can always just hand them cash and not even get change and walk out with whatever I need. As they say, cash is king.

 

[ShannyMcB]

I always have a small amount of cash at home. I live in an area prone to hurricanes so in the past stores and restaurants would have generators to power registers and prep equipment but if a line to process cards has been blow down not much to do about that. Enough cash on hand for a couple gallons of gas and a few boxes of cereal and loaves of bread.

Many things can cause brief(ish) system outages....issues in a main server room (cutting over to a backup is not instantaneous typically) often the result of overheating. Could be a simple as the weather...lots of rain, excessive cold or heat. A local internet cable can go down in a windstorm or car accident. How often has the internet been down in a neighborhood? It happens. And with so many businesses being short staffed and heavy turn over training on what to do during a system outage is often the last piece of training.

 

[DLgal]

Wow two days. Is it due to weather?

Yes, apparently. Some major credit card payment processing centers in the northeast have been affected by the storms.

 

[DLgal]

Going back to the OP's questions, I typically try to have ~$100 in cash in my wallet at all times. I use my credit cards 95% of the time (I pretty much only buy lottery tickets or small <$5 purchases with cash). I also carry an emergency $50 behind my driver's license just in case the networks go down and only cash is being accepted.

While it may take longer for a cashier to process my transaction, I can always just hand them cash and not even get change and walk out with whatever I need. As they say, cash is king.

I keep about $100 in cash at home, but it's strictly for when my sons need cash for school stuff. I also pay my son half his monthly allowance in cash (the other half goes in his bank account). I do play lotto with $5 per week. I keep $20 in 5s in my wallet for this purpose.

I figure if I am ever in a situation where I HAVE to buy something like gas, and I don't have cash, there is always an ATM nearby that I could use to get cash out. I never leave getting gas to the last minute, and fill up at the 1/4 to 1/2 mark, so if ALL the machines were down, I'd just leave and try again another day. This method has worked for me since I was in college. I basically got a credit card the day I turned 18 and have been using them responsibly since. I find being cashless to be very freeing.

 

[tvguy]

While it may take longer for a cashier to process my transaction, I can always just hand them cash and not even get change and walk out with whatever I need. As they say, cash is king.

I got behind a guy and his son at the Dollar Store yesterday........they had two items and their tab came to $1.98 and he used a credit card. Must have taken 30 seconds for the card to be approved. Our tab came to $1.35, I had my 5 quarters and a dime in hand and were out in a jiffy. I know, only 30 seconds longer for the credit card, and I AM retired and have time, but I am 65 years old and I don't have as many 30 seconds left as I used to!!! LOL
Oh, and almost NOTHING in the Dollar store is a Dollar anymore.

 

[mistysue]

I am constantly amazed how low the profit margin is for many businesses, they survive merely on volume. I guess she could be exaggerating, but her numbers seem in line with what other small business owners are reporting.

Those types of products usually have somewhere around a 30 to 40% markup. When I suggested that the shop is making around $500 an hour that was after her cost of the products based on paying $5,000 a month in credit card usage fees. This has to be an absolutely massive operation if that is the true cost of credit cards on a shop. They've got to be ringing up another customer for $100 every 3 to 4 minutes.
More realistically, if this is a small business, they probably have $5,000 a month in charges which they then pay anywhere from 1 to 4% on.

 

[tvguy]

Those types of products usually have somewhere around a 30 to 40% markup. When I suggested that the shop is making around $500 an hour that was after her cost of the products based on paying $5,000 a month in credit card usage fees. This has to be an absolutely massive operation if that is the true cost of credit cards on a shop. They've got to be ringing up another customer for $100 every 3 to 4 minutes.
More realistically, if this is a small business, they probably have $5,000 a month in charges which they then pay anywhere from 1 to 4% on.

Not sure they could even pay the rent on that little.

 

[mistysue]

Not sure they could even pay the rent on that little.

Definitely depends on a lot more details. But the most reasonable explanation is someone venting to get sympathy and exaggerating the numbers.

 

[tvguy]

Definitely depends on a lot more details. But the most reasonable explanation is someone venting to get sympathy and exaggerating the numbers.

Not necessarily. Pretty common problem for small businesses. And of course she isn't MAKING $500 an hour profit because that is before you calculate what she paid for the inventory. So about $250-$300 an hour after the cost of the merchandise, but not factoring in rent, insurance and salaries.