The “CB” logo is becoming rarer, with consequences for consumers

Developments in the bank card payment sector may have an impact on the prices of consumer goods. This is due to two small letters that appear less and less on payment cards: CB, for bank card. Journal du Net explained this Wednesday that this is the logo of an economic interest group whose mission is to validate the transaction.

When you pay by credit card, this results in the merchant paying a fee. This corresponds to the Interbank Payment Commission (CIP), a fee charged by networks such as CB, VISA, MasterCard, but also to the commission charged by the store’s bank. However, not all networks apply the same collection rate. VISA and MasterCard are more greedy than CB.

VISA and MasterCard charge higher fees

“Other networks cost the merchant ten times more than the CB network,” underlined Système U’s CEO Dominique Schellcher. According to Capital, the differences between the networks, however, are less marked. CB charges an average of 0.9% on each payment. International networks such as Visa and MasterCard apply commissions of up to 1.2% of transactions. “Intelligibly, some banks no longer put the CB logo on their bank cards,” laments Dominik Schelcher.

In a joint document, System U, Auchan, Cdiscount and SNCF Voyageurs assert that the share of payments associated with the CB network has fallen from 97% to 85% in three years. A change that can be explained by new online and mobile payment methods or because Neobank and online banks are not connected to the CB network. As a result of this development, merchants will be subject to higher transaction fees and may pass these increases on to their prices.