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To crack down on unauthorized card-sharing, Costco is now asking to see shoppers' membership cards with their photo at self-checkout.
WASHINGTON — Costco is getting stricter about enforcing its membership rules after seeing more non-members using membership cards that don't belong to them at self-checkouts.
The wholesale club's policy requires shoppers to have a paid membership to shop there, and they must show their membership cards when entering the warehouse and scan them when checking out.
"Our membership policy states that our membership cards are not transferable and since expanding our self-service checkout, we’ve noticed that non-member shoppers have been using membership cards that do not belong to them," Costco said in a statement.
To crack down on unauthorized card-sharing, Costco said employees are now asking to see shoppers' membership cards with their photo at self-checkout. If the membership card does not have a photo, then employees ask for a photo ID.
"Costco is able to keep our prices as low as possible because our membership fees help offset our operational expenses, making our membership fee and structure important to us," Costco said in a statement. "We don’t feel it’s right that non members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members."
Costco's basic Gold Star membership costs $60 per year and Executive memberships cost $120 annually and come with extra perks. Both tiers allow for two individual cards per membership.
While Costco is the third-largest retail company in the U.S. by sales revenue, much of Costco's profit comes from membership fees. According to third-quarter SEC filings, the wholesale club has more than 69 million members and nearly 125 million authorized membership cardholders as of May 2023.
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