Costly credit cards for retailers

BRC research has found that the average credit card transaction costs retailers 34p, compared to 8.5p for a debit card transaction and 2.1p for cash. The consortium said that card payments accounted for 76.7% of retail spending by value in 2009, and that its members (which account for 50% of all UK retail sales) could pass on savings of £480m p.a. if card costs were equal to those of cash.