Retailers react angrily to impending consumer legislation

RETAILERS will be banned from giving discounts to customers who pay by cash rather than credit cards under new legislation, Retail Ireland has warned.

Sections of the Consumer Protection Act intended to prevent companies forcing customers from paying by direct debit will also have an unintended effect on credit card payments, according to the organisation.

Ireland is one of just three countries in the EU where Visa and MasterCard cannot force retailers to treat credit cards the same as cash. The other two are Britain and the Netherlands.