I asked today to your representative who had called to confirm my booking & payment formalities-- whether I can use my credit card for making payment. He said Yes, but that I’ll need to pay 2% extra for normal Cards, and 3%, if it is an AmEx Card.
This comes as a rude surprise , coming from a company such as Ather/ their Dealerships. With the Govt of India giving a big push for Electronic Payments ( and with even the biggies like LIC of India/ IRCTC having removed “Convenience Charge” or “Surcharge/ Handling Charge” ), this does not appear to be in good taste, nor is it customer centric. Card Schemes state that “usage of a Card should not be disadvantaged in comparison with a competing form of payment”. Only Governments may selectively pass-on the Merchant Servicing Fees (MSF) to a customer. But here, a private entity like Ather Energy and their Dealers are trying to do the same.
Long story short, if I am to use Ather scooter on a point of principle ( being a non-polluting EV), then using a similar logic, I am averse to paying any surcharge, merely for using a payment card.
Please let me know, if surcharging for card transactions, which is a prohibited practice, will be done away with by Ather & their dealers with immediate effect .
Any way, if a Card Scheme/ Regulator or your Card Acquiring banks get wind of this and you may be in some significant trouble. Thus asking / sharing in good faith.
Please do confirm. That decides if I become your customer.
Your point is valid. But, in practice, all merchants who are not charging for credit cards, they have most probably absorbed that price into the MRP (affects the non credit-card customers, benefits the credit-card customers).
Or, given the high volume / revenue, they have absorbed this into expenses, (will affect the shareholder not the customer).
Here, Ather chose a transparent path to charge only for the customers who wants to pay by credit card (and not affect anyone else)
Same issue here. Digital transactions are increasing and still these charges prevail. Many absorb those charges but ather won’t. I had to send half money to frnd and myself used ATM for 8 times to withdraw money. I also said that few won’t charge as they absorb it. The reply from dealership was we cannot do it. Ather has its terms so charge would be there.
Hi! I used my card to book the series1 450X last month at the indiranagar outlet in bangalore , but was not charged any surcharge . Even for the subscription i paid online but did not pay any surcharge .