Yep, in Canada it gets a bit silly. People will buy a 35 cent piece of gum with their debit card and pay a 50 cent transaction fee...
I've see it happen. Repeatedly.
but then, the transaction fees are payed by the customers.
In spain, it's the shops who must face those fees. So they always ask for a minimum shopping cart.
I personally try not to make any purchases on my card for less that $10 - it doesn't seem worth it if it is.
Regarding the transaction fees, I just went to my bank and threatened to withdraw all my money from them (let's say I'd built up quite a bit of savings with them considering I'd been with them for like, 15 years; I also have some RSP's with them), if they didn't do something about these fees. Anyway, they offered me the option of paying small monthly fee and getting to do as many debit transactions as I want for no charge!!!
When I looked at how many debit transactions I was doing per month, the individual charges were adding up to like, an average of $15!!! The new fee I pay now is less than that (less than $10, I don't remember how much exactly), so there you go. Problem solved.
I also try to use my debit card only for purchases $10 or higher. The only cash I carry now are $5 bills for anything less than that.
You may find it silly, but how many of us here would get a debit card that has *insert favorite MoMusu member here* on it?
SIGN ME UP!!! Hell, I'd get accounts at multiple banks so I can get multiple cards with different MM girls on them!!!