Photo: 123RF
The Commerce Commission says it wants to slash credit card surcharges it says are excessive.
The commission's chair John Small says the draft decision out this morning should cut about $260 million from the $1 billion being charged to businesses.
He says he expects savings to be passed on to consumers and to see the fee for using a credit card - now averaging 2 per cent - drop to something between 0.7 and 1 per cent.
So if you are paying for a surprise bill at the mechanic or the dentist of $1000 - the fee might drop from $20 dollars to swipe your card to as low as $7.
But it will depend on what the shop is paying in transaction fees to offer the service.
The Commission says consumers spend about $95 billion each year using Visa and Mastercard credit cards, while New Zealand businesses incur around $1 billion in fees to provide these payment options.
The commission will set caps for what businesses can charge to recoup fees for customers using credit cards.
John Small is the chair of the Commerce Commission.
