Prime Minister Gaston Browne has called on ACB Caribbean and the Eastern Caribbean Amalgamated Bank to reduce the card-processing fees charged to gas station operators.

Browne said dealers reported paying between 3% and 3.5% on card transactions, an expense he described as excessive for businesses operating on a fixed profit margin of approximately 8%.

“The credit card fees that the commercial banks are charging them — 3% or 3.5%, whatever it is — are extremely onerous,” Browne said during the Browne and Browne Show.

The issue was raised during a meeting between the prime minister and members of the Gas Station Dealers Association, who have been pressing the government for an increase in their margins.

Browne said the dealers’ concerns about processing fees were reasonable and appealed directly to the two financial institutions to offer the retailers a lower rate.

He argued that ACB Caribbean and ECAB, as institutions with strong local ownership, should respond to a problem affecting businesses and consumers in Antigua and Barbuda.

Browne said he should not have to request a formal meeting with the banks because the concerns raised publicly by the gas station operators were already known.

The prime minister acknowledged that card-processing charges, the increased minimum wage and other operating expenses had reduced the dealers’ earnings.

However, the government rejected an immediate increase in their fuel margins, saying motorists could not be asked to carry an additional cost while the state was already sacrificing tax revenue and subsidizing petroleum prices.

Neither ACB Caribbean nor ECAB had responded publicly to Browne’s appeal during the programme.

This article was originally published by Antigua News Room. Read the original article here: PM Urges ACB and ECAB to Reduce Card Processing Fees for Gas Stations.