NEW YORK – Credit card companies are increasingly pushing for no-signature transactions for payments under $25, claiming that it speeds transaction times, but NACS 2006-2007 Chairman Sam Turner questions their claims, notes Tuesday’s USA Today.

Consumer groups are also alarmed by the push by credit card companies to encourage consumers to use plastic for more transactions, especially as the average U.S. household’s balance on cards has ballooned 76 percent over the past 10 years to reach nearly $10,000 in 2005, according to CardWeb.com.

"People should not charge a meal at McDonald's to a credit card unless you're disciplined and paying off the credit card every month," Ken McEldowney, executive director of Consumer Action in San Francisco, told USA Today.

According to CardWeb.com, approximately $60 billion in goods costing less than $25 each are now paid on Visa cards, an 11-fold increase from 2000. The credit card companies claim that retailers benefit from this trend.

"People will spend more if they come in with a card versus cash," Gareth Forsey of MasterCard Worldwide told the newspaper.

However, consumers ultimately pay the price for this alleged convenience in credit card interchange fees.

NACS incoming Chairman Sam Turner, president of Calfee Company of Dalton (Georgia) told USA Today that if a consumer were to buy a 25-cent pack of gum with a credit card, the credit card fees alone would amount to two to three times that amount.

“As the number of small-ticket credit card purchases rises, these processing fees can, in turn, push up the prices of consumer products,” Turner told the newspaper.

"You can't stop taking credit cards, because America is in love with them," Turner said, adding, “They're a necessary evil.”

Editor’s note: Expect to hear more from Turner on credit card fees in today’s Closing General Session at the NACS Show 2006 in Las Vegas.