Traders seek cut in credit cards' commission

Traders have threatened banks to stop entertaining credit cards if they fail to lower commission from 3 to 1 percent before August 31, 2008. Chairman Trader Action Committee Siddique Memon said here Thursday that traders would not allow purchase of merchandise on credit cards during the month of Ramazan.
He said that nowhere in the world banks charge commission from traders and business houses which sell their products to customers on credit cards. "There is no commission on credit cards anywhere in the world. It is free of charge", he noted. He pointed out that banks charge Rs 3 from shopkeepers on the sale of every 100 rupees and pay Rs 97 to shopkeepers. They also charge a fee from card holders, this is too much. Memon said that during the present slow down in business and rising price hike, traders cannot afford to pay 3 percent commission to banks.