Fuel stations resume threat to stop accepting credit cards after deadlines expire

The threat that fuel stations belonging to the National Association of Gasoline Retailers (Anadegas) will stop accepting bank cards and only use cash as a payment method has resurfaced after deadlines passed without an agreement being reached between them and card payment providers regarding profit margins for processing payments through that channel.

Juan Elías Pérez, president of (Anadegas), reiterated the threat without a specific date, but indicating that “at any moment” fuel stations will only accept cash payments.

“At any moment we will stop accepting credit card payments; it is not profitable for us to accept them because the bank takes RD$8.00 from our gross profit for every gallon consumed at each station,” stated Pérez.

He also said that all deadlines have expired, and a meeting with the banks has not taken place, first a 30-day deadline, then 15, and then 9.

I call on users to blame the national banking system when they cannot pay for their fuel with cards, as their margins make the business unsustainable.

It is recalled that on July 7, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs, Yayo Sanz Lovatón, together with the executive director of Pro Consumidor, Eddy Alcántara, met with Adanegas, with the aim of initiating a dialogue process regarding the commissions applied to card payments.

A 90-day period was agreed upon there to reach an agreement and seek a solution to the problem.