Credit card companies now routinely charge the firms accepting credit card payments US$0.25 plus between two and three percent of the amount transferred per payment. This fee structure makes it difficult to run a business selling items for less than ten dollars, and impossible to run a business selling items for less than one dollar: transaction costs eat up the profits.
信用卡公司目前对接受信用卡付款企业的常规收费是每次交易0.25美元，再加上转帐金额的百分之二到百分之三。这样的费用结构使经营10美元以下产品销售的企业面临很多困难，而销售1美元以下商品的可能性更是微乎其微：交易费用侵蚀了大部分利润。