I am hoping someone can provide some direction on this issue. From what I can recall, I thought merchants who agreed to accept Mastercard/Visa could not dictate a minimum purchase requirement?

If I am correct, can someone please point me in the right direction?

This is a "can" vs. "may" question.

The merchant agreements do not allow minimums, but it is a contract issue only. Even if a consumer could convince the merchant bank to "slap the wrist" of the merchant, I doubt that the merchant bank, MasterCard or Visa would actually sanction a merchant.

The consumer should complain to the merchant and take their business elsewhere.


Al

I can't really provide a cite, but one of my good friends is our merchant services rep. He had a customer who had their contract voided based on several (many several actually) customer complaints and his statements that he would continue to charge a fee if not at a minimum purchase price.

Both Visa and MC have toll free numbers for complaints such as this.