Can't take transaction charge on cards: Petrol pump owners

Chennai: Petrol pump owners said on Sunday there was no question of accepting the charges levied by banks, since they would put a huge financial burden on them. They said until the banks get back their announcement on the charges, they would not accept card transactions.

“The oil companies give us a discount of a little more than 2 per cent for every kilo litre and if we give one per cent from that to the banks, we can't run the pumps with the remaining one plus per cent amount. In that amount, we need to pay salaries of our staff, carry out maintenance and pay electricity and other bills,” a petrol pump owner said seeking anonymity.

Another owner, who said he was not authorised to speak to the media, said if they start accepting the new rules imposed by the banks, their losses would equal twice the profit they make. A majority of the pump owners feel cheated since the government forced them to adapt to cashless transaction and once the situation seemed to normalise, they have been dealt a body blow.

“Already, private players like Reliance have been giving us tough competition by selling diesel at '1 lesser than the rate at which we sell. At a time when we are struggling to keep our business afloat, such drastic decisions by the bank would only hurt us more,” another petrol pump owner told Deccan Chronicle. He also said pump owners encounter weird demands like change of '400 or '300 in hard cash after having swiped for '500 through their card.

Tamil Nadu Petroleum Dealers Association President K P Murali said bankers were also ‘delaying payments’ and not settling the entire dues.   “The reconciliation of swipes to amount being credited to our accounts is causing a lot of hardships and losses to a large percentage of the dealer community,” he said.
Kumaraswamy, President of Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners Association, decried the move by the banks saying a majority of the owners had just converted to cashless transactions after much prodding from the government. “If pumps don't accept cards, a majority of the lorries would stop mid-way. More than 60 per cent of the owners now use cashless transactions to fill petrol,” he said.