Buying gasoline with a credit card could be hurting your local independent gas station owner - and you may have to pay for it.That's because credit cards charge merchant fees in the form of a percentage of sales - and those fees eat into the fixed per-gallon sum that gas retailers tack onto pump prices.
Some stations raise prices in order to keep profit steady. But others are unwilling to risk the competitive disadvantage or unable due to contracts with suppliers, and absorb the hit.
"In some instances, this credit card problem is turning to the straw that broke the camel's back," said Paul Fiore, vice president of Service Station Dealers of America and Allied Trades. Fiore said gas station closings are not yet wide-spread, but could turn into a bigger problem as gas prices continue to increase.More at Yahoo Finance
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