Right now, you carry around with you a kind of plastic that is harming the Co-op. It's not BPA or Tritan, it's your Mastercard, Visa, Discover or American Express card.
Every time we use our credit or debit card—either with a chip reader or a swipe—the Co-op is charged a fee. Just last year the Co-op spent $105,000 in credit/debit card fees. This year we project fees will be $128,000.
“But hold on,” you say, “I don’t like to hassle with cash. And I really like the points I get from spending with my credit card!”
So do I. But I have an even better solution that is more convenient, and you get to keep your points: Use your credit/debit card to put money on an Owner tab.
A huge benefit of being a Co-op Owner is that you can activate a tab in our register system. Load your account with money to use for future purchases. Do that with a credit card and you’ll still accumulate rewards points, but you significantly reduce the number of swipe fees - incurring only one swipe fee for each time you load your account.
By loading your Owner tab with a credit card, your total purchase amount per month will be the same and you’ll accrue the same number of reward points.
“But wait!” you say. "Using a credit or debit card is so convenient."
As a new Owner myself, I didn't know about Owner tabs. In a typical day at work, I used my debit card three or four times. Now I front-load my prepaid tab with $500 at a time. Not only do I help the Co-op reduce fees, but I sail through the checkout.
All I have to do is take one card out of my wallet: my Berkshire Food Co-op Owner card. No more waiting for the card reader to acknowledge me…to ask for my PIN…to process the purchase…and then wait for the purchase approval.
If even half of our Owners would use a pre-paid tab regularly, we would save tens of thousands of dollars. Load your tab with cash and help us save even more! That's money that stays in our community.
Not an Owner? You can have the same positive effect with Berkshire Food Co-op reloadable gift cards! Use your credit card to load up a gift card, then use that instead to reduce fees and help in the same way that Owner tabs do! You’ll sail through checkout just like those with Owner tabs do.
Please help the Co-op reduce costly fees. Load up your pre-paid tab or buy a gift card to cut back on the use of the “other” plastic.