It's distressing how often government creates a problem while trying to "fix" a different problem.
A federal law now limits the fee that card issuers can charge merchants each time a consumer uses a debit card for a purchase. That may sound like a good deal for consumers. But with card issuers facing billion-dollar losses from the limits on so-called "swipe fees" - especially on sales of big-ticket items - some are requiring merchants to collect higher fees on small purchases than they collected previously. In response, some merchants are considering refusing to accept credit or debit cards for purchases below, say, $5 or $10, Cox Newspapers reported.
That would be a big inconvenience to consumers who are used to being able to pay with plastic.
But that's unfortunately what happens when government imposes price controls or otherwise meddles in the free market. It doesn't solve problems, it just moves them around.