InternetJeff Cash transactions only account for 10% of all purchases, and that trend is not increasing overall.
https://capitaloneshopping.com/research/cash-vs-credit-card-spending-statistics/
Plus it’s rather hypocritical for merchants to offer credit card as a payment option, then effectively charge you extra for it by giving a cash discount. If they are that concerned about cash flow and fees, walk the talk and go cash only; should have no impact on total sales, right? Fortunately, retail discounts for cash are unheard of in Canada, so we don’t have to deal with that hypocrisy, which means I don’t have to not frequent such establishments.
Regarding credit card points, I use the Esso (Exxon) app to activate the pump and since the app is linked to an affinity credit card, I get a 3% discount in points that I can use to lower the grocery store bill when I use that same card there. Similarly, my cell phone provider’s affinity credit card offers 3% cashback in account credits for their products and services, i.e. the monthly mobile bill, so my annual cell phone spend is reduced by 50% since enough points accumulate to credit every other month’s bill. No annual fee on either card.
Lastly, the argument that prices are higher because of credit card fees doesn’t go very far, since all merchants price their products accordingly, so you’re paying for the fee whether you use cash or credit: a 10% spend on cash purchases cannot mathematically recoup the extra cost of the 90% spend on credit cards purchases, even assuming that the entire 10% was at a discounted price. While individual experience may vary, collective totals (and data) do not.