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> What's worse, because the vast majority of merchants charge you the same price whether you're paying cash or credit, people who pay cash are, in effect, charged these hidden fees as well.

Their merchant account agreements actually require cash/card prices to be the same. (Credit card purchase minimums are generally not allowed either - of course that doesn't stop many merchants from trying.)

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This is not true any more. The Dodd-Frank act of 2010 allowed retailers to set up to $10 minimum purchases and lower cash prices.

In addition, as of January 2013, merchants are allowed to add a surcharge.

http://usa.visa.com/personal/get-help/checkout-fees.jsp

I think what jawns is getting at is precisely because you can't price-discriminate on the payment method, you might as well increase prices for everything in order to cover transaction fees (operating under the assumption that most customers will pay with credit card), which effectively means that cash-paying customers get stuck with those fees.

Agreed.

That is incorrect as of 2010 and was incorrect for several states before 2010. :/

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