Consumers again foot the bill after surcharge shuffle

Amid the uproar at the removal of the credit card surcharge, no one appears to be investigating how banks can make $1.6 billion from fees and charges. I use a debit card and object to paying extra for the right to use my own money, so it’s usually cash or eftpos (“Cash is king in business backlash”, October 11). Yet again we are seeing the costs of business being stripped out and passed on to consumers as banks make ever more obscene profits. Perhaps if businesses refused cards and consumers used cash, the extra cost on banks to transport and handle cash might cause a rethink. Wayne Duncombe, LilyfieldSo “cash is king”. You try to find an ATM machine these days to get cash out. They’ve disappeared! You have to spend money driving to find one. I’m paying an extra 20¢ for my coffee – and that’s with cash! Graham Watson, WoollahraDying breed? ATMs are becoming harder to come by.Louie DouvisAll the wailing over the RBA’s ban on surcharging credit cards shows up only one thing: that business has been slugging consumers with a hefty surcharge every time one goes to buy something. Now all the businesses have to do is adjust their prices and they are back to square one and the consumer knows exactly how much they are paying. Furthermore, businesses can now shop around and get the best rate for their credit card transactions, which previously were hidden but must now be published by the banks. Also, all transactions are now cheaper by half a per cent on credit cards for all businesses. What’s not to like? There is transparency when a customer purchases something and savings for businesses. Pamela Wood, McMahons PointPay up and smileI hope that private school parents do not expect sympathy for the exorbitant cost of their children’s private school tuition (“Parents facing $800k in private school fees”, October 11). They already receive massive federal funding, parental building grants, restoration projects and buy-up plans for city blocks, and student fees are increased almost yearly – all while perfectly presented public schools stand nearby at a small percentage of the costs. For some, it is prestige and influence above all in the choices we make. No sympathy here. Janice Creenaune, AustinmerParents facing $800,000 in private school fees say they swear by the “quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten” quip. Steve Ngeow, ChatswoodTrump v ICCAs usual, Trump’s actions and comments are full of half-truths and lies. True, the ICC has looked into certain behaviour by US citizens in places such as Afghanistan, but the ICC has never charged nor issued an arrest warrant against a US citizen (“New US sanctions aimed at crippling the ICC”, October 11). In fact, US federal law prohibits it from working or co-operating with the ICC and, accordingly, the US has never provided funds to the ICC. Because the US already has nothing to do the ICC, Trump’s sanctions are aimed at those countries supporting the ICC, organisations such as banks and IT companies that deal with the ICC, and of course, those judges and probably other senior personnel who work for it. And he still thinks he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Miles Harvey, NewtownUS President Donald Trump may be targeting supporters of the International Criminal Court.APWrong target againParnell Palme McGuinness falls into the same old misquotation (“Superficial plan for supermarkets”, October 11). It’s not money that is the root of all evil but the love of money, to quote the biblical verse. Money is good. Greed is bad. Betsy Brennan, WahroongaZero accountabilityIt is concerning that Pauline Hanson at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Brisbane last week made unfounded attacks on Angus Taylor and continued to call the current Labor government corrupt with no available evidence (“Hanson lambasts smarmy Taylor”, October 11). We need and deserve truth-telling in political campaigns by our politicians. When they fail to have any substantial policies, they use misinformation, name-calling and slander. We need our electoral commission to call such indiscretions so that voters are not fooled into believing such untruths and slander and so that we can elect honest and worthy politicians. Brian McDonald, WilloughbyOne Nation leader Pauline Hanson attacked Angus Taylor at CPAC last Saturday.AAPIMAGEIn front of an audience of right-wing compatriots, Angus Taylor exuded confidence for the future and declared that the Liberals were “back”. He even praised Nationals leader Matt Canavan and his Coalition partners (“Opposition leader was more of a support act than keynote speaker”, October 11). All very comforting, but given the polls for Nationals in seats facing One Nation challengers, what will Taylor do if Canavan and his colleagues are no longer there? Now, many Liberals are probably glad to get rid of the bunyips and their influence, but what will they do if only One Nation offers support? I look forward to their well-served discomfort. Tony Sullivan, IslingtonHum of contentmentThey’re back! I almost missed it among the squawking of the lorikeets, the incessant chirping of the baby noisy miner and the annoying koel. A sound we haven’t heard for a couple of years (due to varroa mite) as we sit on the deck with the first coffee of the day under the raining tassels of the Japanese maple. Bees! European bees humming away alongside their Aussie mates, feeding and pollinating our large summer shader. Small things delivering big bliss. Helen Lewin, Tumbi UmbiTo submit a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald, email letters@smh.com.au. Click here for tips on how to submit letters.The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform. Sign up here.