Credit Card Punishment

Using credit cards to buy books on Amazon, groceries, paying for internet services, buying cellphone covers, sneakers or bed sheets was a gentleman’s agreement.

Credit card companies charged stores a little something for allowing me to use the credit card. Now stores or merchants are fed-up. They complained, spearheaded by Telus, a Canadian phone company.

Why should stores or businesses where I buy things with my credit card pay for the gentleman’s agreement? Merchants have won. That is not surprising because as the African proverb goes: when elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers. Consider me the grass.

Now that  the  gentleman’s agreement has shifted to me the customer, what are my options?

1. Choose which cellphone companies I want to deal with. Obviously, Telus is not one of them because of the 1.5% add on, if I use my credit card.

2. Less sales for phone companies and all stores that agree that the gentleman’s agreement should be shifted to me, the customer.

3. More diligence for me, that I must have enough ‘real’ money in my debit card to pay cash. Remember, debit cards are electronic cash.

4. Customers will finally have the power to destroy credit cards, which was never ours in the first place. It was a gentleman’s agreement.

The notion that I should be punished for using the credit card takes us back to our helplessness. We had money. We hid it under the mattress. The government said it will not pay us child benefits and the pension unless we put the money in a bank.

The bank charges us for keeping our money. Time went on and banks and the government colluded to make us use credit cards. Trouble in paradise, now we must be punished for using credit cards.

We will not take it lying down.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.