"JPMorgan Chase Calls It: 'A Lump of Coal' - We Call It: More Bait &-Switch Banking Gimmicks (WayTooHigh.com)

More tricks by the card associations and its member banks. As we near the holiday retail selling season, our business, along with millions of other retailers are again being faced with more gimmicks and schemes to force consumers to use their debit cards as credit cards. Even though the funds are instantly withdrawn from their bank accounts, the interchange fees are much, much higher, and that is how the "contest" games. Through contests and bait-and-switch-like small-print rules, cardholders can only enter the fun if they do not use the less expensive PIN-based debit card electronic payment.

We received the below letter today. But, first, as a refresher on how these games are played, see the below links to prior WayTooHigh.com postings. Even JPMorgan Chase® has a sense of humor as it sticks its tongue in the face of all its merchant customers. In the bank's own words from their Nov 1st press release: "(For this promotion, PIN purchases qualify only for a lump of coal)."

Look at What Visa® is Up to Now (WayTooHigh.com)

Confusing Debit Cards (WayTooHigh.com)

Who Is The Real Violator? (WayTooHigh.com)

WayTooHigh.com Reader Comment

Dear Mitch Goldstone:

JPMorgan Chase (one of the named defendants in your antitrust litigation, and the biggest bank in my area with a 17% market share) has came up with a sneaky new way to switch people over from cheaper PIN debit transactions to more expensive signature transactions this holiday season, forcing merchants to pay higher fees in the process (just when they need it the least).

The promotion, named "Chase Picks Up The Tab" (which runs until December 31) goes like this: Every 500th Chase Visa Check Card purchase from all enrolled Chase checking customers who reside within the promotional area is paid for by Chase (up to $500, and if the purchase is less than $5, the payoff is $5)... Chase will be giving out an estimated 50,000 purchases. But PIN-based purchases are not eligible among the "qualifying purchases".

Way to go, Chase! You just made merchants furious!

And how will this be paid for? Interchange profits, of course... instead of merchants paying 25-50 cents for PIN debit, they'll have to pay that 1.8+% signature debit fee, so this should be called "Merchants Pick Up The Tab (In Higher Interchange Fees)". And customers will want to sign because of this promotion... so what will be the bottom-line hit to merchants in areas with large amounts of Chase checking customers, and what will be the payoff to Chase (and Visa Inc.)? You can bet on one thing: It won't be pocket change for either.

P.S.: Don't forget that JPMorgan Chase also owns over half of one of the three largest Visa/MasterCard processors (Chase Paymentech), so the payoff to JPMorgan Chase could be even bigger at some merchants. Any wonder why JPMorgan Chase is doing better than Citigroup or Wells Fargo?