"'Vejita' S. Cousin" wrote in message
...
In article ,
When Debit cards came out a few years back, many merchants were charging
about 25 cents for DEBIT transactions until it was widely pointed out
that a
debit transaction cost much less (one cent) than processing a paper
check.

The AM/PM gas stations (ARCO) around here kept the practice in place for
about two years after the other merchants went to doing it free. I
stopped
going to those stations and don't know if they STILL do it.

I've always wondered why I can use my debit card w/o a service charge
any place EXCEPT a bank I can even get cash back, but there's no extra
fee. But if I go to a cash machine...

Because the machines in place at merchants are paid for _by the merchant_.
The ATM machines you use from a competitor bank cost the competitor bank
around $100,000 to install and setup.