Pay in Order to be Paid?

Going back to the cheque-less existence envisaged for us in eight years time by the Payment Council, I think it's worth mentioning that card processing services cost money. In fact one or two of them cost so much money to process each transaction that some traders can't afford to deal with them at all.

Obviously, therefore, and unless card processing services suddenly become free services - and I think you know how likely that is! - new or small businesses who are lucky enough to get card processing services in the first place will have to pay in order to get paid. And inevitably, in order to sustain a viable profit margin, those businesses will have to increase their prices - and may or may not price themselves out of the market in the process.

Where are we going here?