Kroger Co., the biggest U.S. supermarket chain, plans to widen a ban on Visa Inc. credit cards to its Smith’s food and drug division, blaming rising costs from premium cards.
Starting April 3, Smith’s stores won’t accept Visa credit cards, though customers can still use their Visa debit cards, the company said Friday in a statement. The ban follows Kroger’s decision in July to stop accepting Visa credit cards at its Foods Co. Supermarkets unit in California.
Kroger is responding to the growing popularity of premium cards, which come with higher swipe fees for merchants, Chief Financial Officer Mike Schlotman said in an interview. Banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co., American Express Co. and Citigroup Inc. have been offering ever increasing rewards on their high-end credit cards as a way to entice affluent customers.