Small merchants are particularly disadvantaged in all this. They face disproportionately high merchant service fees and have limited bargaining power. On top of that, because smaller retailers cannot afford to lose customers, they are likely to feel they have to absorb the fees rather than surcharge or refuse certain card types. And, indeed, I've spoken to small businesses who feel the pressure to do just that and are reluctant to call the banks out on their pricing practices for fear of retaliatory action.