Will Credit Card Settlement Mean Higher Swipe Fees?  Published
July 19, 2012  | Reuters  That is a familiar choice at the gas
pump, with a cheaper price for cash payments and a higher one
for credit card purchases. But will this fly at a grocery store,
hotel or other retail outpost?  Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc's
proposed $7.25 billion settlement with retailers over swipe
fees, which credit card companies charge to process payments,
could lead to a two-tiered payment system for a host of
transactions, analysts say.  The agreement allows retailers to
collectively bargain on future swipe fees, which are also known
as interchange rates. It also opens up the possibility that more
retailers can add surcharges for credit card transactions,
although they would have to explain them to consumers in clear,
concise language.  The settlement is not a completely done deal
since one of the plaintiffs, the National Association of
Convenience Stores, is rejecting it. Even so, here are the
answers to four questions consumers