Swipe it: 7-Eleven to accept credit cards

[cpofc]

Since this has turned from a debate about credit and easy money, to one of technology - OK then.

And Wwilst some are quick to label others 'Luddites', I would say to you that you are grossly mistaken, I love technology! You could almost call it a hobby of mine,

Here is something you may wish to ponder.

Recently the USN re-introduced Celestial Navigation into their Naval Academy New Entry Officers Course (last year). They ditched the practice years back, because it was made redundant by modern technology. Advanced Sat Nav & GPS replaced it. Makes sense? yes?

Then some bright spark, probably a 'dinosaur' like myself had a brain snap and realised that when their enemy takes out their hi tech electronic 'systems' they won't have a clue where they are, where to go and what course to steer to get there,

That ancient instrument, the Sextant, has made a triumphant return!

[ebonykap]

Well, I for one am extremely happy with this development. I have a "thing" (I may be a little OCD) about the notes in my change from 7-Eleven stores NEVER being the right way around. It sometimes takes ages to get all the notes in sync. Problem solved!

[Pib]

The rate charged for the use of credit cards is universal and all retailers pay it.

If by universal you mean every retailer pays the same that is incorrect. The Visa/Mastercard/etc card network interchange fees vary by merchant type, product/service type, area of the world, etc. Just for example review below weblinks/docs from Visa/Mastercard websites relating to their interchange fee. And actually the merchant is processing transactions/paying fees to his local processing bank who is interfacing with the card networks and the merchant pays fees to that local processing bank based on whatever contract arrangement (a.k.a. Merchant Discount Rate) he has which goes beyond just the basic interchange related fees.

Visa uses interchange reimbursement fees as transfer fees between financial institutions to balance and grow the payment system for the benefit of all participants. Merchants do not pay interchange reimbursement fees; merchants pay "merchant discount" to their financial institution. This is an important distinction, because merchants buy a variety of processing services from financial institutions; all these services may be included in their merchant discount rate, which is typically a percentage rate per transaction.

Visa U.S./Europe Intra Interchange Fee Related Links

https://usa.visa.com/dam/VCOM/download/merchants/Visa-USA-Interchange-Reimbursement-Fees-2015-April-18.pdf

https://www.visaeurope.com/media/images/intra%20visa%20europe%20eea_09122015-73-17763.pdf

Mastercard

https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/about-mastercard/what-we-do/interchange.html

[Guest]

Well, I for one am extremely happy with this development. I have a "thing" (I may be a little OCD) about the notes in my change from 7-Eleven stores NEVER being the right way around. It sometimes takes ages to get all the notes in sync. Problem solved!

A "LITTLE OCD" (????????????????????????)

Thank you for a great laugh!

(Might I suggest you seek professional help .. and get back on your meds?)

Edited May 18, 2016 by Guest

[Guest]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

You don't know what you're talking about. I use a credit card even for a $6 meal at McDonald's in the U.S. It is way faster than dealing with cash. Customers swipe their own cards. Plus, we get benefits such as miles or cash back. The only trick is to use them as cash--i.e., pay them off every month. That's not very hard if you're a sensible adult.

Here we go again.

Let me say this slowly so you can take it in.

Thailand

is

not

America

Got it?

[Pib]

Should speed-up checkout a lot.

Maybe they'll set it up like the TOPS I use here in Bangkok. The card is put in the POS electronic pad machine, if a Visa card and no more than 700 baht then no signature/PIN is required...transaction complete. If a Mastercard, if no more than 1500 baht then no signature/PIN required...transaction complete. If exceeding those amounts then must sign the electronic POS pad, press confirm that appears on the screen, transaction is done, really fast....no fuss.

I expect Chip & Signature mode will be used versus Chip & PIN because the electronic signature pad has no manual button to push, no problem with people forgetting their PIN/punching in the wrong PIN, etc. Yeap, should speed things up

The wife and I went to TOPs this morning...I paid for a little over 500 baht for stuff at the check out counter using my Visa card. The wife paid around 300 baht for stuff in the pasty section of TOPs using her Mastercard.

I mentally counted the number of seconds it took to process my transaction from the time I had the card to the clerk and the clerk was handing it back to me with receipt...transaction complete. Took 14 seconds...no signature or PIN req'd due to the amount.

The wife and I then went to the pasty section where she did her transaction...I watched from a few meters way and mentally counted the number of seconds from the wife handing the clerk her card and the clerk handing back the card with receipt...transaction complete. 13 seconds.

Below is a picture of the system they use at the TOPs I use...you see the POS machine to the left which interfaces to the cash register and in the middle the signature pad (when needing to sign). And on the right they have a placard showing the amounts for Visa and Mastercard as to when a signature is or isn't required. Maybe 7-11 will use a similar system.

Our cards are foreign/U.S. chipped credit cards with no foreign transaction fee...both pay 1.5% cash back reward on any purchase. So, paying in cash actually ends up costing me more than using the credit card and use of the credit card also saves me wire transfer fees in transferring funds from the U.S. to my Thai bank occasionally to top the cash I maintain in Thailand.

P.S. Walking out of TOPs in the parking lot I found a SCB debit card someone had lost. If being a bad guy I could have went on a purchase spree. Instead of turning it in at a SCB branch somewhere, when I got home I introduced the card to my scissors....the card is now a bunch of little cards (pieces) in the trash can. So, treat you debit and card cards "just like cash" because if you lose your card a bad guy might find your card instead and head off on a purchase spree with no or little need to worry about PINs, signatures, etc.

Edited May 18, 2016 by Pib

[Don Mega]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

You don't know what you're talking about. I use a credit card even for a $6 meal at McDonald's in the U.S. It is way faster than dealing with cash. Customers swipe their own cards. Plus, we get benefits such as miles or cash back. The only trick is to use them as cash--i.e., pay them off every month. That's not very hard if you're a sensible adult.

Here we go again.

Let me say this slowly so you can take it in.

Thailand

is

not

America

Got it?

So what are you saying there bangkokequity, I should stop using my credit card for all purchases and instead carry and use cash ?

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

Do you really think a huge Japanese retailer is going to pay 3%?

How about people that pay off their card every month and get benefits such as cash back or airline miles?

You are thinking like a skint dinosaur

Good points, and howabout that fookin 180 atm fee? Total BS...and I'm not paying to get a BKK Bank ATM card which offers less consumer protection than an animal skin condom. Ever notice how long it takes them at "7" to give change for a 500, let alone a 1000? Tried the self-service terminal at Mcdonald's in BKK the other night....worked like a charm, paid with MC....it still saves them money over paying a smartphone user....

[andrew55]

I guess it saves the thieves having to beat the PIN number out of us.

Hope there is a limit.

In Australia it's $100 (THB 2600) per transaction, but you can do it a lot of times with just a 'tap'.

Take care of your cards, especially if you visit tourist areas.

Why on earth would credit card limits need to be $100? What--you buy $100 flight tickets? You never spend more than $100 in a supermarket? In a Walmart-type store? Why not a 7-11? I think I'll give Australia a pass.

A transaction above $100 needs PIN or signature in addition to 'swipe' (or 'tap' when the 'chips' are happening).

Any single transaction under the $100 doesn't require this verification.

Sorry if I hadn't made myself clear.

Don't give Australia a pass for that reason - I can give you much better ones.

Just kidding.

Edited May 18, 2016 by andrew55

[Suradit69]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

You don't know what you're talking about. I use a credit card even for a $6 meal at McDonald's in the U.S. It is way faster than dealing with cash. Customers swipe their own cards. Plus, we get benefits such as miles or cash back. The only trick is to use them as cash--i.e., pay them off every month. That's not very hard if you're a sensible adult.

Here we go again.

Let me say this slowly so you can take it in.

Thailand

is

not

America

Got it?

So what are you saying there bangkokequity, I should stop using my credit card for all purchases and instead carry and use cash ?

I think what he is saying is that the world is a big place and everything done back in your home country is not necessarily bigger, better or the standard by which we measure all things and it's relevance to a Thai-based topic is usually meaningless.

[KhonKaenKowboy]

Except that Visa is a US company...so they are forced to do things in accordance with US banking practices to a certain extent. And you can bet your arse that the stores don't want to loose their privilege to accept visa because they get too many complaints by people seeking relief from Visa, on a transaction gone bad...Banggood and Lazada come to mind....

[Pib]

Here's a Lloyd's weblink showing Visa and Mastercard interchange fees (21 pages worth) for UK and Europe....lots and lots of different fee amounts depending on various factors.

https://lloydsbankcardnet.com/assets/pdf/Lloyds_InterchangeRatesMC4.pdf

[robertson468]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

Suggest you do your homework. 7 Elevens are not owned by foreign companies.

[cpofc]

Some farangs seem really stuck in the past.

Modern societies all evolve towards cashless societies.

Not only it makes the payment easy, no need to carry cash, no need to go to the ATM, but it also is safer for both sides, less possibilities of errors, etc...

I just hate to stand behind a farang who searches for small change in his wallet, till he finds the exact 147 baht amount needed to buy his items.

The world is moving fast. Some here seem totally idle.

The world is moving fast, but are we heading in the right direction? just a thought

That is a good question. Nobody can be sure about that.

But I believe it is better to adapt to the changing world than stay stuck in the past.

Some just can't adapt and end up really grumpy...

Having said that, I personally feel that life is better today than it was 20 years ago.

Social media, Facebook, online payment, easy of travel, smart phones, new technologies, Internet banking, etc... make life so much easier.

Gerry , I am not disputing what you say. In many instances the good ole days weren't all that good. No-one realises this more than I. 35 years ago I was living in a Khlong Toei slum. My only daily contact with the outside world was via the Bangkok Post which my wife would get by sending a motor bike to fetch for me. Until I got a Hi Tech Shortwave Radio. Do you have any idea what the currency restrictions were like in those days! Among the strictest in the world. One had to make very good plans and watch his spending. Travelers cheques, Passports, Counter Signatues. What a pain.

Techology makes it so easy here to live here today, its a wonder many more aren't doing it. Thats why i take nothing for granted here today.

My argument is not about the technology, far from it, it is about giving Thais more opportunity and services to spend more money they don't have.

Petty arguments about how long it takes to pay in cash compared to tap and go, <deleted>? Like I am going to go to Macdonalds and stand there with a stop watch at the ready, in increments of 1/10 of a second! Sheesh.

[SunsetT]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

You don't know what you're talking about. I use a credit card even for a $6 meal at McDonald's in the U.S. It is way faster than dealing with cash. Customers swipe their own cards. Plus, we get benefits such as miles or cash back. The only trick is to use them as cash--i.e., pay them off every month. That's not very hard if you're a sensible adult.

Same in the UK. I carry very little cash and, like most people, pay for everything I can on a cc. or debit card except if less than £1 or in the local market. It is so much more convenient and I get 1% or .5% cashback and its paid off by direct debit every month. I already always pay at Thai Tesco and Big CC with one of my fee free UK CCards. This means I bypass all international money transfer fees and/or the rip-off 200thb ATM charge when withdrawing cash to spend. It will be great when they offer 'cashback' on your debit card at the checkout as they do in the UK which comes straight out of your bank account. Then all exchange/transfer fees on day to day spending will be avoided.

I bet 7/11 will soon have chip and pin machines mounted in front of the tills like the machines they have to top up your mobile phone where u enter your mobile # instead of faffing about entering #s from a scratch card.

The Thai convention of piling your change and receipts into your hand also drives me crazy as u have your shopping in your other hand so its really awkward to check and sort it out. Coins often fall off too. In the UK change mostly gets put on the counter or onto a special tray built into the counter.

[Guest]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

Suggest you do your homework. 7 Elevens are not owned by foreign companies.

Are you kidding?

The reference here was the credit card companies!

They are the providers of plastic liquidity and take a tidy profit for doing so.

[cpofc]

Ahhhh, the selfish Gen Ys who are only interested in themselves, anyone would think they rolled this out for their benefit alone so they could get their Maccas fix 5 Seconds quicker

I guess the Bar Girls will need to carry around portable POS machines soon. Tap and go sex!

Many couldn't give a rats about the Thais. its all about them.

http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/dumble-bragging--the-one-thing-gen-y-needs-to-stop-doing/news-story/c1f22d961411cc3b772148e0183228f9

[BernieOnTour]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

Do you really think a huge Japanese retailer is going to pay 3%?

How about people that pay off their card every month and get benefits such as cash back or airline miles?

You are thinking like a skint dinosaur

7-11 is an American company, and you can certainly use a credit card in any retailer in the U.S. One exception I know of is Winco supermarkets, where they don't like to pay the commissions. So people use cash or debit cards.

7/11 Thailand is running under US license,

but the franchising is fully controlled by Charoen Pokphand Group and that group is in full ownership of a Thai family.

They are operating independently.

[Johpa]

Do you really think a huge Japanese retailer is going to pay 3%?

How about people that pay off their card every month and get benefits such as cash back or airline miles?

You are thinking like a skint dinosaur

Parent company in Japan is not negotiating local credit/debit card processing fees. That being said, large companies like national 7-11 franchises, in Thailand owned by CP, usually do their own processing and pay significantly less than smaller operations that have to use third party processors. Here in the US it is now nearly impossible to find fees below 2% from a third party processor.

The skint dinosaurs, whatever that is, are the pompous people with their rich rewards cards, which charge the retailer added fees, who use use their cards for every little purchase to get their rewards which are paid for out of the pockets of the retailers, and it is a regressive rate with the smallest retailers paying the highest percentage. Then these people have the arrogance to bitch the loudest when a small retailer imposes a minimum purchase or other restriction on the use of the card. I know this from personal experience. I once had a customer try to use an Amex card in my store, a card that is twice as expensive to accept as VISA. I tried to use some humor to lighten the situation by saying to the customer that he could leave home without it. Customer was too young to get the joke and so he goes home and rants on Yelp about me being some sort of rude dinosaur. Bottom line was that he was, like most reward card holders, too stupid to understand that it is not the card issuer nor the banks that are paying for the miles or cash back.

[bubba1]

Do you really think a huge Japanese retailer is going to pay 3%?

How about people that pay off their card every month and get benefits such as cash back or airline miles?

You are thinking like a skint dinosaur

Parent company in Japan is not negotiating local credit/debit card processing fees. That being said, large companies like national 7-11 franchises, in Thailand owned by CP, usually do their own processing and pay significantly less than smaller operations that have to use third party processors. Here in the US it is now nearly impossible to find fees below 2% from a third party processor.

The skint dinosaurs, whatever that is, are the pompous people with their rich rewards cards, which charge the retailer added fees, who use use their cards for every little purchase to get their rewards which are paid for out of the pockets of the retailers, and it is a regressive rate with the smallest retailers paying the highest percentage. Then these people have the arrogance to bitch the loudest when a small retailer imposes a minimum purchase or other restriction on the use of the card. I know this from personal experience. I once had a customer try to use an Amex card in my store, a card that is twice as expensive to accept as VISA. I tried to use some humor to lighten the situation by saying to the customer that he could leave home without it. Customer was too young to get the joke and so he goes home and rants on Yelp about me being some sort of rude dinosaur. Bottom line was that he was, like most reward card holders, too stupid to understand that it is not the card issuer nor the banks that are paying for the miles or cash back.

If you don't think Japan is calling the shots then you must have little experience in international business. Stick to your little store or whatever it is. Your comments are ethnocentric and bleed of ignorance.

[cpofc]

Do you really think a huge Japanese retailer is going to pay 3%?

How about people that pay off their card every month and get benefits such as cash back or airline miles?

You are thinking like a skint dinosaur

Parent company in Japan is not negotiating local credit/debit card processing fees. That being said, large companies like national 7-11 franchises, in Thailand owned by CP, usually do their own processing and pay significantly less than smaller operations that have to use third party processors. Here in the US it is now nearly impossible to find fees below 2% from a third party processor.

The skint dinosaurs, whatever that is, are the pompous people with their rich rewards cards, which charge the retailer added fees, who use use their cards for every little purchase to get their rewards which are paid for out of the pockets of the retailers, and it is a regressive rate with the smallest retailers paying the highest percentage. Then these people have the arrogance to bitch the loudest when a small retailer imposes a minimum purchase or other restriction on the use of the card. I know this from personal experience. I once had a customer try to use an Amex card in my store, a card that is twice as expensive to accept as VISA. I tried to use some humor to lighten the situation by saying to the customer that he could leave home without it. Customer was too young to get the joke and so he goes home and rants on Yelp about me being some sort of rude dinosaur. Bottom line was that he was, like most reward card holders, too stupid to understand that it is not the card issuer nor the banks that are paying for the miles or cash back.

If you don't think Japan is calling the shots then you must have little experience in international business. Stick to your little store or whatever it is. Your comments are ethnocentric and bleed of ignorance.

Hang on. I can sympathise with all this. Diners Club were the worst. Massive Merchant Fees whilst giving away all sorts of crap to their card holders. A massive touch up. Many business owners kicked Diners Club into touch many years ago.

had a large mob wanting to book out our entire restaurant for a Sunday Lunch once. We didn't do entire restaurant group bookings and we used to only open in the evenings. But we did this 'job' against our better judgement. I never did it again. Whilst it was a big group they were all separate, sitting at separate tables. Each table paid their own Tab and left the money in th small thai brass trays provided, it was a 'Set Menu' with a set price per head, everyone paid cash, so it was pretty easy. Before I could do anything, one bloke in the group, not the organiser, nor anyone specially designated etc., got up and scooped up all the cash from every table and pocketed it, then flicked me his Diner's Club Card.

Jesus was I wild, I was about to miss out on any loose change, as staff tips, and cop a 5% Merchant Charge on top!

Strictly, it wasn't his money to touch. But hey, I am just the mug proprietor who is supposed to believe that bullsh_t theory, the customer is always right.

I wanted to tap him right on the chin. But I couldn't. I had to smile and wear it.

I have more.

[55Jay]

If you don't think Japan is calling the shots then you must have little experience in international business. Stick to your little store or whatever it is. Your comments are ethnocentric and bleed of ignorance.

Hang on. I can sympathise with all this. Diners Club were the worst. Massive Merchant Fees whilst giving away all sorts of crap to their card holders. A massive touch up. Many business owners kicked Diners Club into touch many years ago.

had a large mob wanting to book out our entire restaurant for a Sunday Lunch once. We didn't do entire restaurant group bookings and we used to only open in the evenings. But we did this 'job' against our better judgement. I never did it again. Whilst it was a big group they were all separate, sitting at separate tables. Each table paid their own Tab and left the money in th small thai brass trays provided, it was a 'Set Menu' with a set price per head, everyone paid cash, so it was pretty easy. Before I could do anything, one bloke in the group, not the organiser, nor anyone specially designated etc., got up and scooped up all the cash from every table and pocketed it, then flicked me his Diner's Club Card.

Jesus was I wild, I was about to miss out on any loose change, as staff tips, and cop a 5% Merchant Charge on top!

Strictly, it wasn't his money to touch. But hey, I am just the mug proprietor who is supposed to believe that bullsh_t theory, the customer is always right.

I wanted to tap him right on the chin. But I couldn't. I had to smile and wear it.

I have more.

Wasn't it your decision to accept Diner's Club to begin with though?

[Wilsonandson]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

2 ham and cheese toasties,

A 50 baht fill up for my mobile phone, can u help me do it,

Here's my electric and water bill,

I'd like to cash those stamps in for a new plastic lunchbox,

Can you change this bag of 1 baht coins, theres a 100 for a 100 baht note,

Wave this hamburger,

A footlong hotdog, sliced with tomatoe sauce,

Put that on my credit card.

Oh its not working, here try this one.

Smile!!!!

Edited May 18, 2016 by Wilsonandson

[cpofc]

If you don't think Japan is calling the shots then you must have little experience in international business. Stick to your little store or whatever it is. Your comments are ethnocentric and bleed of ignorance.

Hang on. I can sympathise with all this. Diners Club were the worst. Massive Merchant Fees whilst giving away all sorts of crap to their card holders. A massive touch up. Many business owners kicked Diners Club into touch many years ago.

had a large mob wanting to book out our entire restaurant for a Sunday Lunch once. We didn't do entire restaurant group bookings and we used to only open in the evenings. But we did this 'job' against our better judgement. I never did it again. Whilst it was a big group they were all separate, sitting at separate tables. Each table paid their own Tab and left the money in th small thai brass trays provided, it was a 'Set Menu' with a set price per head, everyone paid cash, so it was pretty easy. Before I could do anything, one bloke in the group, not the organiser, nor anyone specially designated etc., got up and scooped up all the cash from every table and pocketed it, then flicked me his Diner's Club Card.

Jesus was I wild, I was about to miss out on any loose change, as staff tips, and cop a 5% Merchant Charge on top!

Strictly, it wasn't his money to touch. But hey, I am just the mug proprietor who is supposed to believe that bullsh_t theory, the customer is always right.

I wanted to tap him right on the chin. But I couldn't. I had to smile and wear it.

I have more.

Wasn't it your decision to accept Diner's Club to begin with though?

Yes it was, a poor one at that, but you knew that already didn't you. It was also my decision to sack them. And you wanna know something else? I never missed them.

Next question.

[cpofc]

Oh, and AMEX, shortly after, followed suit. I was in the food business, it wasn't my job to provide the punters with holidays to Bali too.

[mgjackson69]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

Fast and efficient lines? Which 7-11 do you frequent?

That was 1980s USA, where it was quick to pay cash, slightly slower to write a check, and dog slow to use a credit card.

Now it is quick to use a credit card, slower to use cash (current employees do not know how to make change), and <deleted> is a check?

[statman78]

I'm assuming this means debit cards will also be accepted. In the USA no one uses cash, you pay everywhere with a debit card. Very convenient. Thailand is going the same direction, cashless society.

Even the people on welfare ?

In some states in the US the people on welfare get a debit card to buy food. They do not get cash.

[Guest]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

Fast and efficient lines? Which 7-11 do you frequent?

That was 1980s USA, where it was quick to pay cash, slightly slower to write a check, and dog slow to use a credit card.

Now it is quick to use a credit card, slower to use cash (current employees do not know how to make change), and <deleted> is a check?

I have no idea why you all circle back to America.

I have lived non stop in Bangkok for 6 years.

Perhaps I have learned to be patient and go with the flow.

What is absurd in most replies to my post is the concept that the current system is slow and inefficient ,, now wait for the punchline ..

Credit cards will SPEED IT UP!

Please stop and THINK before you bicker with people.

[Johpa]

If you don't think Japan is calling the shots then you must have little experience in international business. Stick to your little store or whatever it is. Your comments are ethnocentric and bleed of ignorance.

The CP Group does not need to kowtow to a smaller Japanese retail holding company. And Bubba, apt moniker there, my comments were directed towards class structure and dinosaurs and not towards any ethnicity whatsoever, so how you could parse some sort of ethnocentric bias is beyond me apart from my hitting some sore spot as you realized I had perhaps outed you as one of those pompous buffoons who use your rewards card without consideration. As far as my little experience, I imagine it at least gave me more understanding of the business world that you have amassed within your lifetime. Or would you argue that large retail chains do not do their own processing? I mean what exactly did I say that you imagine to exude ignorance? My guess is that it was my second paragraph that got your goat, a paragraph with a story and an opinion but nothing to indicate ignorance. You are indeed lagging on many fronts this evening.

[mgjackson69]

Goodbye fast an efficient lines ... Hello 30 minutes to buy a liter of water.

And hello insane interest rates for the people least able to afford them.

The 2% - 3% Visa charges will now be passed along as higher prices.

Why?

Because what has worked perfectly for decades needs to be "improved" so a gigantic Foreigner company can get a percentage of sales.

Borrowing money should be for items one most can not readily afford in one lump sum, a car, a house, a boat. Not a candy bar.

Fast and efficient lines? Which 7-11 do you frequent?

That was 1980s USA, where it was quick to pay cash, slightly slower to write a check, and dog slow to use a credit card.

Now it is quick to use a credit card, slower to use cash (current employees do not know how to make change), and <deleted> is a check?

I have no idea why you all circle back to America.

I have lived non stop in Bangkok for 6 years.

Perhaps I have learned to be patient and go with the flow.

What is absurd in most replies to my post is the concept that the current system is slow and inefficient ,, now wait for the punchline ..

Credit cards will SPEED IT UP!

Please stop and THINK before you bicker with people.

Who the &lt;deleted&gt; was bickering?... My comment was, back in the 1980s, credit cards were slow.

Now, credit cards are about the quickest way to clear a checkout line.

The previous poster was commenting that credit card transactions were going to slow down the current "high-efficiency" 7-11 lines.

My point is that the current lines are anything but "high-efficiency".

Credit cards will not slow it down.

What slows the lines down is people making PEA payments or car loan payments, and the cashiers acting as if every transaction is the first one they have ever handled.

We are in agreement, my friend....credit cards will speed it up.