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Consumers believe retailers benefit far more from accepting credit and debit cards than they pay in costs, according to a new survey released today by Visa Inc. The survey also finds that consumers believe merchants see card cost acceptance as a part of doing business, much like paying for utilities such as electricity. So here are tips to avoid harmful credit card fees at checkout.

Retailers and their well-funded trade associations have filed lawsuits and are aggressively lobbying Congress to allow them to shift their business costs to consumers by allowing merchants to charge checkout fees whenever consumers use credit or debit cards. At the same time, national convenience store chains have launched misleading, in-store petition campaigns to cover for their checkout fee efforts.

“The response is loud and clear: consumers aren’t buying the message convenience store chains and big retailers are selling,” said Bill Sheedy, group president of the Americas for Visa Inc. “This research demonstrates that consumers are well aware that legislation is a Trojan horse that likely will lead to higher prices for cardholders while retailers pocket the savings.”

Among the survey’s findings:

* By a 2-to-1 margin, consumers say retailers should pay the cost of accepting credit and debit cards.
* 78 percent of consumers believe the value and benefits retailers receive from accepting credit and debit cards outweigh the costs of accepting them.
* 83 percent of those surveyed believe that any savings retailers realize will be used to increase their own bottom lines and will not be passed on to consumers.
* 91 percent of consumers say they are more likely to shop at stores that accept credit and debit cards.

Source: Visa Inc