Why do ALDI charge an extra 0.5% on some customers.
ALDI have been known for cheaper grocery shopping for many years.
One thing I remember from shopping with them, starting many years ago, was to pay cash or use a debit card, to avoid having to pay the banks surcharge that the bank want from you when you pay by using your credit card.
Most businesses include (hide) that charge in their normal prices, so you pay it even if you pay by cash or debit card.
ALDI chose to give people the option, so that those who pay by cash do not have to pay the banks charge for credit card use.
ALDI charges 0.5% of each sale when using a credit card, or when a debit card uses the credit system (payWave/payPass etc), which causes the banking system to take a percentage of the sale.
Many banks have not told their Debit card customers that if they use a Debit card as a contactless payment option, the charge goes through the credit card system adding in extra costs to the retailer, who is permitted to add that charge back on to the customer, either hidden, as most retailers do, or itemised, as ALDI do.
But now we see news reports of people complaining that ALDI adds on this cost from the bank, and makes people who use that costly payment method, contribute to its cost. ALDI have been doing this since 2001 in Australia.
These credit card customers want to pay the same as a cash customer, but still get all the benefits of using a credit card (Free credit, Rewards points etc.*) that someone MUST pay for.
ALDI could of course do what other businesses do, and make everyone pay the same.
That way cash customers will pay the same as credit card customers, who currently have to pay a tiny bit extra to cover the cost of their “free” credit and rewards points.
That way, Credit card payers would win, by forcing cash customers to pay more…!
Note: The Credit Card benefits: Free credit, Rewards points etc., are not really free, but are paid for by that surcharge that some credit card customers do not want to pay.
I use my Credit card to pay at ALDI.
A recent shopping trip was $64.03 with the surcharge of $0.32 added to make it $64.35.
That 32 cents is not kept by ALDI, but goes to the banking systems who provide the services for the Free credit, Rewards points etc., for those credit card customers.
For that extra 32 cent surcharge, I get the benefit of up to 55 days before I need to pay, and I get 32 Flybuys points which are worth 16 cents. (I use a Coles No Annual Fee Credit Card when shopping at ALDI.)
Some people complain that they have NEVER known about it.
This is a receipt as an example of where it shows how much was paid in GST ($2.34) and Credit Card Surcharge ($0.32). It also shows warranty terms of anything bought with a warranty. I read my receipts, and notice things that might be interesting or relevant. Not everybody does.
This is on the ALDI website: (I have highlighted some words in red)
We also accept all major credit cards, except American Express and Diners Club. Please note, however, that there is a 0.5% surcharge on all credit card purchases to cover the cost of the service.
Why does ALDI charge a credit card surcharge?
ALDI offers Visa and MasterCard as payment methods for customers, as well as contactless transactions, however there are very high costs associated with accepting these cards. Rather than ALDI inflating prices across the board to compensate for the credit card acceptance costs (like most of the retailers do) ALDI instead allows customers to make the choice as to the payment method they prefer. This allows customers who choose the lower cost method of payment, to receive the direct benefit by way of lower prices.
Is there a surcharge on contactless transactions?
The contactless option of payment registers as a credit card purchase through the bank and the 0.5% surcharge automatically is added. ALDI suggests that you contact the financial institution your card is with for further details on their terms and conditions of use for contactless transactions.