$4.50 credit card service charge on beverage vending machines


Posted Jan. 21, 2022

By Farhiya Mohammed

Staff Reporter

The school has 11 vending machines on campus, all capable of accepting credit cards, with a $4.50 service charge attached to beverage machines.

Photo by Advisor

Some students may not know that the beverage vending machines that accept credit cards have a $4.50 service charge attached. After the card is swiped, the student can either buy one or up to two items. If they choose to buy one item, they can press cancel, having it complete the transaction. Overnight, the transaction is reconciled between the machine and the credit card and ultimately the student is only charged for the purchase(s) made.

As with all credit card transactions, there is risk attached. If a problem were to occur, there is not much the school can do, for the vending machines do not belong to the school. They are leased to the school. The same thing goes for the vending machines that accept cash instead of cards. The school cannot refund cash lost to a vending machine.

Seven of the machines all full of snacks and four are full of beverages. The most expensive item is $2.50. The most amount of money the vending machines can take is $5 and the least is $1.