Consumers again foot the bill after surcharge shuffle

You've used all of your gift articles. 3 more will become available on the 1st of every month.

Amid the uproar at the removal of the credit card surcharge, no one appears to be investigating how banks can make $1.6 billion from fees and charges. I use a debit card and object to paying extra for the right to use my own money, so it’s usually cash or eftpos (“ Cash is king in business backlash ”, October 11). Yet again we are seeing the costs of business being stripped out and passed on to consumers as banks make ever more obscene profits. Perhaps if businesses refused cards and consumers used cash, the extra cost on banks to transport and handle cash might cause a rethink. Wayne Duncombe, Lilyfield

So “cash is king”. You try to find an ATM machine these days to get cash out. They’ve disappeared! You have to spend money driving to find one. I’m paying an extra 20¢ for my coffee – and that’s with cash! Graham Watson, Woollahra

All the wailing over the RBA’s ban on surcharging credit cards shows up only one thing: that business has been slugging consumers with a hefty surcharge every time one goes to buy something. Now all the businesses have to do is adjust their prices and they are back to square one and the consumer knows exactly how much they are paying. Furthermore, businesses can now shop around and get the best rate for their credit card transactions, which previously were hidden but must now be published by the banks. Also, all transactions are now cheaper by half a per cent on credit cards for all businesses. What’s not to like? There is transparency when a customer purchases something and savings for businesses. Pamela Wood, McMahons Point

I hope that private school parents do not expect sympathy for the exorbitant cost of their children’s private school tuition (“ Parents facing $800k in private school fees ”, October 11). They already receive massive federal funding, parental building grants, restoration projects and buy-up plans for city blocks, and student fees are increased almost yearly – all while perfectly presented public schools stand nearby at a small percentage of the costs. For some, it is prestige and influence above all in the choices we make. No sympathy here. Janice Creenaune, Austinmer

Parents facing $800,000 in private school fees say they swear by the “quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten” quip. Steve Ngeow, Chatswood

As usual, Trump’s actions and comments are full of half-truths and lies. True, the ICC has looked into certain behaviour by US citizens in places such as Afghanistan, but the ICC has never charged nor issued an arrest warrant against a US citizen (“ New US sanctions aimed at crippling the ICC ”, October 11). In fact, US federal law prohibits it from working or co-operating with the ICC and, accordingly, the US has never provided funds to the ICC. Because the US already has nothing to do the ICC, Trump’s sanctions are aimed at those countries supporting the ICC, organisations such as banks and IT companies that deal with the ICC, and of course, those judges and probably other senior personnel who work for it. And he still thinks he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.