Written by Mike   

Banks have their hands in our pockets at the gas pump, and most of us don’t even know it.

A new study by the National Association of Convenience Stores found that drivers were paying around 7 to 10 cents a gallon in hidden bank fees every time they gassed up. That’s about $30 a year for the average driver. That’s built into the price of a gallon, so even if you pay cash, you’re paying for these hidden fees.

The banks’ cut goes up with the price of gas, even though it costs your bank nothing more to process your debit or credit card transaction.

Between 2004 and 2011 gas prices increased 80 percent. Card fees rose 180 percent. In other words, even when gas prices level off, the bank fees continue to rise.

These “swipe” fees are what your bank charges the store to process your transaction. Those fees are the store owners’ largest operating expense after labor – more than rent, more than utilities. Convenience stores paid more than $11 billion in card fees last year, an amount almost 90 percent greater than their profits.