Gas stations protest credit card fees

IRVING, Calif., July 8 (UPI) -- As gas prices rise, some U.S. gas stations are taking a proactive stance against fees they pay credit card companies, observers said.

In Irvine, Calif., recently, about 100 gas station owners rallied in protest of credit card fees they say cut into their profits, USA Today reported Tuesday.

Some station owners are offering cash-paying customers gifts, such as a free cup of coffee, to encourage more to pay with cash, USA Today reported Tuesday. Others are giving discounts of 5 to 8 percent to those who pay with cash, the report said.

But many customers are strapped for cash these days, the report said.

The offer of free drinks hasn't convinced many to pay with cash at Jodeco, a gas station in Stockbridge, Ga, the report said.

"We have only a few people take us up on it," station owner Richard Bell told the newspaper.

But, credit card fees are "only one small piece in the chain of gasoline price," Sharon Gamsin, a spokeswoman for MasterCard, told USA Today.

The chief executive officer of the American Bankers Association said credit cards saved stations money by reducing the number of employees needed to handle cash transactions, the report said.