Experts say thanks to a $7.2 billion deal struck last summer between credit card companies and merchants, customers may now be assessed checkout fees in the range of 1.5 to 3 percent every time they use their card.
Bellingham/Whatcom Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Ken Oplinger, says the agreement gives businesses the option of either paying the fee themselves or passing it on to customers.
Oplinger says he is confident that most businesses in our area will not assess fees for fear of losing sales.
He also says that unless Washington adopts anti-fee legislation, we could likely see a future uptick in the practice.
The surcharges do not apply to debit card.
