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When Visa International acquired the Interlink point-of-sale network in 1991, it gained a strong base in California and surrounding states upon which to build a national network. But Visa also inherited Interlink's policy of allowing merchants to surcharge consumers who use on-line debit, a policy that, like a sticky candy wrapper, has been tough to shake.
Visa officials have made it clear they oppose surcharging, fearing it could dissuade consumers from using credit as well as debit cards. And Interlink's board of directors tried to stop the practice in 1993 by banning new merchants from imposing fees, while adopting a grandfather clause that permitted those already surcharging to do so until November 1, 1996. That exemption was limited to merchants in California, Arizona, Oregon, Nevada and Washington.
With that expiration date approaching, however, Interlink found the policy was no easier to change, especially when it was facing stiff competition from the Explore POS network of the California-based Star System. And, rather than seeing merchants defect to Explore, Interlink last week notified merchants that are surcharging that their exemption had been extended to the year 2000.
Weighing Options
The move, along with the spread of surcharging at ATMs, suggests to some that more merchants may impose surcharges in other regions. However, there appears little evidence yet of a trend in that direction.
Some of the merchants that have been surcharging, however, made plain they had no intention of giving it up. Among those is the Carl's Jr. fast-food chain, a subsidiary of CKE Restaurants, Inc. of Anaheim, Calif. The chain, which does not accept credit cards, charges consumers 50...