Donna Genie tells retail owners to stop complaining about credit card fees and treat them like rent or utilities instead. The net cost after taxes is often under $2, and embedding the 3% fee into prices keeps margins intact without creating friction at checkout.
All right, let's talk about something most retail business owners are getting totally wrong right now. Credit card processing fees. Yep, you've heard me talk about this before, but it's super important and I want to get on it again. So here's the truth. Most businesses spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars marketing to attract a single customer. You got ads, social media, promotions, all these things to get people in the door. But then when the customer wants to pay by credit card, you're frustrated about a $3 processing fee. That's not smart business math. That's just leaving money on the table. Let me break down exactly what you need to change in your mindset about credit card fees. First, your processing fee is a cost of doing business, just like the rent or the utilities. When a customer wants to pay by card, they're telling you their preferred method to pay. Don't create friction by being difficult about their payment method. Payment method. Next, those fees are tax deductible. You're literally getting money back at the end of the year by accepting the cards. So stop thinking of them as a pure expense. That $3 actually only costs you probably less than $1.50 or $2. Next, customers expect to make payment by credit card now. By hesitating or complaining about processing fees, you're signaling that you're an outdated business. Most consumers want convenience. So here's a practical strategy. Simply build that 3% fee into your pricing structure. Raise your prices marginally. Most customers won't even notice. What they will notice is a smooth professional transaction. Let me give you a concrete example. If your product costs $100 and the processing fee is $3, just price it at $103. Your profit margin stays exactly the same, but you've eliminated any mental friction around payments. The math is simple. Would you rather lose a $3 processing fee and potentially lose the entire sale, or absorb that fee and guarantee the revenue? Here's a pro tip for you. Shop around for the best processing rates. Not all merchant services are created equal, so look for transparent pricing with no hidden fees. And don't let your merchant processor charge the fees directly to your customer because then you have no control. Bottom line here, stop seeing credit card fees as an enemy. Start treating them like any other cost of business. Do you shut off the lights just because nobody is sitting at one table in a restaurant to save electricity? No. If you want more strategies like this, subscribe to our channel and our weekly newsletter. We're dropping some game-changing business sites insights every single week. Hope you'll join us.
