More and more establishments reject charges for credit/debit card terminals and stop offering credit services

SPAIN We were standing at the bar chatting with a friend who runs a bar. A customer, who after many years of visiting the village and the establishment and finally buying a home here, turned up wanting to pay a €98 bill with a normal credit card on a local bank. 'Sorry,' said our friend, 'we don't do credit or debit cards any more...' The man looked non-plussed, mumbled something about having to pop over to the bank, etc. He was seen counting cash at his table, with everyone's contribution towards a good, inexpensive meal now blurred by this credit card thing. On being questioned, the owner said he had decided not to offer his customers this service any longer, when the bank, the credit company or the phone company (he was livid, so this was not clear) wanted to charge an extra €29 per month on top of the percentage charged by the credit card company on each transaction. He also told us that he had spoken to many of his fellow restaurateurs on the subject, and most of them had done the same. 'How much do they think they can squeeze us?' he demanded to know. We believe this is happening all over the country, where tourism is so far saving what's left of the shattered economy ... (An article on this industry coming up soon, we hope.)