Debit machines are popping up in unlikely places in Windsor-Essex.

The technology is now available at roadside fruit and vegetable stands, the ones that traditionally only accepted cash.

Years ago in Essex County, some relied on the honour system by simply leaving a jar at the side of the road where people plopped their coins and bills in exchange for produce.

George Bousaba owns a roadside stand in Amherstburg, about 30 kilometres southwest of Windsor, Ont. This summer, he made a business decision to get a debit machine.

"I'm going to make money out of it because I'm not going to lose anymore customers," he said.

Bousaba said the machine costs him $65 a month and about seven cents per transaction.

Fees, fees and more fees

In March of 2012, CBC News found that small businesses are charged up to 4.6 per cent every time a customer swipes a card. The money doesn’t go to banks or credit card companies. Instead, it goes to those who run the online transaction systems; those who provide the point of sale equipment.

The Interac Association also gets its cut.

In order to accept debit cards, a merchant must have its service provided by a payment processor — a company that provides the keypads and online services to the merchant. The payment processor must be a member of the Interac Association. The association manages the network that links members together in order to deliver direct payment services across the country.

The payment processors pay an annual membership fee based on the number of transactions they process. The current fee per transaction is $0.007019 — or $70.19 for 10,000 transactions. That fee is down from 2009.

According to the association, there are 4 billion Interac transactions per year in Canada. The money collected by the association pays for infrastructure, advertising and operational costs.

"We are in 2012, so everybody doesn't carry cash anymore. What are you going to do?" Bousaba said.

Up the road, in LaSalle, Shelley Chappus of Chappus Farm has been offering debit transactions for four years.

"We like to make our business as convenient as possible," she said.

Chappus said she's had customers buy one tomato using a debit card.

"How many people carry cash these days?" she said.

According to a previous report by CBC, only Swedes use their debit cards more than Canadians.

A report published by the federal government in 2009 found that in 2004, the typical transaction fee paid by debit cardholders to card issuers, such as banks, in Canada ranged from $0.50 to $0.60 per transaction.

Some retailers in Windsor say cash still makes more sense than plastic.

Angelina Ebegbuzie is one of them. She won't consider plastic payment at her hair salon in downtown Windsor.

She said location makes this decision easier. There is an ATM across the street and major banks are nearby.

Ebegbuzie said accepting only cash does pose some challenges.

"There's also the issue of having a lot of cash on hand. But for the most part, for a small business, I think cash is it," she said. "There are more pros to having a cash business than cons."