[Nextgrid]

My point is that this would become optional and the cardholder chooses whether to opt-in (and pay an extra fee) at the time of payment.

If the cardholder doesn't opt-in then the payment is as good as cash (with the same recourse available as if you paid cash).

This could allow low/no-fee transactions for low-stakes situations where the chargeback protection wasn't going to be used anyway.

[jkaplowitz]

Ah, you're proposing to remove US credit card customers' statutory right to those chargebacks except if they opt into a surcharge on a per-transaction basis.

[Nextgrid]

Yes, essentially moving the transaction fee the merchant pays to the consumer. This means they can choose whether they want the additional protections those fees currently pay for.