Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
It wasn't too many years ago that I would complain about paying an extra 45 cents credit/debit card fee to fill up my gas tank at ARCO convenience stores at the pump.
Rather than spend more, I would head to a nearby station to avoid having to pay the fee. It was the principle, not the price.
Oh, how I wish it was still that simple today.
With the price for a barrel of oil down more than 10% over last month. I was looking forward to filling up my gas tank a little cheaper this past weekend as I traveled to the state 1B/2B/1A track meet in Yakima. I got to the gas station and sure enough the price per gallon had declined slightly.
Finally, some relief.
Ah, but I spoke too soon. I didn't realize the credit card fees at the pump had increased - per gallon.
Yes, I have been paying the typical 4 or 5 cent per gallon fee to use my card for a few years now. But many gas stations around Eastern Washington quietly raised the credit and debit card fees much higher to cover the cost of banking transactions.
There are no signs on pumps, nor are there any on gas station and convenience store doors. Subtly, the price on the pump and electronic signs fluctuates between a cash and card price, as is required by law.
Many motorists probably didn't even notice the large card-fee increase. Why would they, any reduction in the gas price was offset by the increased card fee.
Apparently, sometime in recent weeks, fuel purveyors decided to take advantage of laws that allow them to charge 3% or more per gallon for transaction fees associated with using debit and credit cards. (Federal law allows up to 4%.)
If we look back two years, in June 2024, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.79 per gallon in Spokane County. That allowed stations to charge an addition fee of up to 11 cents per gallon. Last year, June 2025, the average price was $4.42, allowing for an extra 13 cents.
Just this week on Monday, June 1, with the average in the state hovering around $5.71 per gallon, stations could charge an additional credit card fee of 17 cents per gallon.
To be fair, not all gas stations are charging that. Many are "only" charging an additional 15 cents. And if you seek them out, some stations are forgoing a card fee in hopes patrons will stop in and buy snacks and beverages.
With our state government pushing us into a digital economy, our elected officials and their employees should be working to eliminate credit and debit card fees, not just at the pump, but everywhere.
Besides, it's not like business or banking employees are personally handling all card transactions any more. In fact, many businesses aren't even staffing stations during early morning or late-night hours.
In the U.S., the only legal tenders are U.S. coins and currency, and Federal Reserve notes. But in our state, businesses aren't required to accept "legal tender." Here, they can "contract" for payment via credit and debit cards, checks, cryptocurrency and other means. And it doing so, they can charge you for using a credit or debit card.
That's a dichotomy that needs to be addressed.
- Roger Harnack is the owner of Free Press Publishing. Email him at roger@cheneyfreepress.com.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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