We’re approaching what’s usually the busiest shopping weekend of the year, and if you’re dining out at a San Antonio restaurant on Small Business Saturday, the Texas Restaurant Association has a specific request for you – pay with cash.
Chief Public Affairs Officer of the Texas Restaurant Association Kelsey Erickson Streufert joined Austin news station KVUE to talk about why.
KVUE’s Marc Mullins: So first, tell us a little bit about what you want diners to do this Saturday on Small Business Saturday.
Streufert: First of all, you said the word “diners.” That’s the first step: Please go out and dine – breakfast, lunch, dinner. Get a gift card for your family and relatives, and if you can, we’re asking folks or encouraging folks to shop with debit or cash because that’s going to allow that local business to keep more of that revenue right here in our local community.
Mullins: And how does that work? What people usually think: “Okay, everything is digital. I’ve got my cards with me. I’ll just use it. It’s just easy for everyone.”
Streufert: That’s right. The challenge is credit cards. When we pay with a credit card, a good percentage of that bill goes straight to Wall Street. Uh, because there’s a duopoly, Visa and Mastercard control 80 percent of the market. They dictate all the fees, and small businesses have no negotiating power or really even transparency. And so those fees, those fees keep going up and up and up versus if you pay with debit card, those fees are regulated. They’re much more affordable for local businesses, and so everyone wins.
Mullins: And then with cash it’s all for the business, correct?
Streufert: That’s right, assuming we have enough pennies, which is a whole other story we can talk about later. But yes, cash or debit, that’s going to [keep] more of your money to say right here in our local communities, the small business side.
Mullins: And that’s what they say cash is king. So this comes with, if we look at the broader scope of things with the tariffs and how hard it is to keep places stocked with products, how is that affecting the restaurant situation here in Central Texas?
Streufert: Yes, so it’s probably obvious to folks in a way because we’re all feeling it in our own personal finances: everything costs more and costs significantly more than it did a few years ago. That’s true for restaurants too. Food costs are up about 38 percent since the pandemic. Labor costs are up. Credit card processing fees are up, insurance, the list goes on and on. And the average restaurant’s profit margin is only about 5 percent.
And so when those credit card fees are about 3.5 percent to 4 percent, pretty soon you’re talking about Visa and Mastercard are actually making as much money off of that local restaurant sale as the restaurant, even though the restaurants here are employing locals, investing in the community, generating tax dollars, etc. So it really does add up in the end.
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Read the full story at KVUE.com.
