Many stores and restaurants post signs saying that you have to spend a certain minimum amount in order to use your debit or credit card. The reason for this is that business owners are charged for every swipe of the debit or credit card, and this can add up to hundreds of dollars a month.
Visa and MasterCard state in their merchant agreements that business owners are not allowed to set minimum purchase amounts, or to charge customers a fee for using their cards; customers should be allowed to use their card for any purchase of any size. If a store refuses your debit or credit card because you are not spending enough, you can report that merchant to your bank where your debit card was issued, or you can report Mastercard violations here.
