Don’t be surprised if a Dairy Queen clerk in the Twin Cities nudges you to buy that candy cane blizzard with cash, credit or anything other than a debit card from a major bank.
Despite a new cap designed to limit how much banks can collect on debit card transactions, many merchants say they are paying higher fees for low-dollar debit purchases. For businesses such as fast-food restaurants, convenience stores and grocers, the higher debit card fees have been a particularly tough blow, because more of their sales are generated from purchases of $10 or less.
“Our average person in a [Dairy Queen] spends about $6,” said Matt Frauenshuh, CEO of Fourteen Foods LLC, which owns 22 Dairy Queen outlets in the metro area. “It’s a substantial cost to us.”