Review impact of card payments
The concern expressed by a recent contributor regarding the increasing use of card payments for goods and services is well founded, but seemingly unrecognised by the powers that be as they focus on interest rates as the only option available to manage inflation.
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Credit card purchases attract an additional 1.35 per cent to 3.5 per cent fee that is required to be paid by the trader and when it is imposed on the huge number of credit card transactions that occur daily it must represent a significant component of the 2 per cent to 3 per cent target set by the Reserve Bank for inflation control.
The credit card charge is invisible, it is not reported on the purchase receipt and traders may increase the price of their goods to cover the charge.
If they do, then all their customers will pay the increased price whether they pay with a card or with cash.
The banks and the credit card companies are utilising increasing levels of digital technology to reduce their costs and increase their profits.
These savings should be shared across the community, but instead the banks require credit card users to pay an annual service fee and traders are required to pay account fees and fees for the use of card readers.
The savings that the banks are making result in increased costs to us as customers and to business owners.
It's time for the Reserve Bank to review the impact card purchases are having on inflation and provide some relief for young people who are struggling to manage their mortgage repayments.
Robin McLiesh, Beechworth
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Just reading about the power situation in the UK.
They needed 24,000MW to run the country but alas, it was a cloudy day and the wind didn't blow so they got 90MW of renewable energy or about .3 per cent of what they needed.
Well, I suppose you can guess where the rest came from, nuclear, gas and coal and even from France.
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