Diners may increasingly spot dual pricing options on their tabs as some restaurants begin offering discounts for cash payments in a bid to reduce the credit card fees they pay to issuers and networks.
Some have likely begun surcharging, said Vanessa Sink, a National Restaurant Association spokesperson, noting the swift introduction of temporary surcharges for eggs early this year as prices surged. The association doesn’t query restaurants about payment surcharging or discounts as part of its monthly survey, she said.
“When everything starts to go up, you have to do something and all of them are making different decisions about what they think their diners will accept,” Sink said, noting a wide diversity of 70 different segments within the restaurant industry.
Merchants’ long battle with card networks Visa, Mastercard and American Express over interchange fees is seeping into financially-pinched restaurants, forcing them to impose surcharges, said Doug Kantor, general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores and a longtime legislative advocate against card fees imposed by card companies.