New Bank Debit Cards A Rip Off

In the Dail, I raised an issue that has come to light in the past couple of months that a debit card which the main banks are offering to farmers and others is costing small business people a fortune and I proposed that people revert back to using cheques and cash until this mess has been sorted out. It transpires that a large percentage of the value of a transaction is being deducted in fees from businesses who are accepting payments with this debit card. This is costing marts, hardware stores and other small businesses a fortune in fees and charges and it is a disgrace that the banks that we as taxpayers bailed out are charging these exorbitant fees. The Taoiseach said that the matter should be referred to the Credit Review Ombudsman but I am saying to those people using these debit cards to revert to their old payment system until these charges are reviewed. The Government are constantly telling us how important the small business sector is yet they allow the banks, some of which are still owned by the taxpayer to get away with this carry on. I would caution against anyone using these debit cards unless they are fully aware of the fees that are charged by using it