ATLANTA — Racetrac Petroleum Inc. says that effective October 15, 2001, it will stop accepting Interlink debit cards. Company executives said that the decision was reached following a recent announcement by Interlink’s parent company, Visa U.S.A., to more than double its fees by raising the transaction cost by 125 percent.

“With an unjustified cost increase of this magnitude, Racetrac feels like we have to step up and be an advocate for all consumers,” said Christy Helms, director of payment systems for Racetrac. “Racetrac is committed to lowering the price of convenience, and we feel that Interlink’s increase will impair our ability to provide products at a low cost to our customers.”

Racetrac will continue to accept other PIN-based debit cards, such as NYCE, Pulse and STAR, and credit cards such as Discover, MasterCard and Visa. The only customers who are expected to be affected by this decision are those that use cards displaying the Interlink brand exclusively. These customers will need to use another form of payment.

“Racetrac sincerely regrets any inconvenience this may cause our customers,” said Helms. “However, we felt that this was the only way we could help maintain low prices for all our customers.”

Atlanta-based Racetrac owns more than 500 company and contract-operated gasoline convenience stores under the Racetrac and Raceway brands.

The Racetrac news follows a similar announcement last week by Wal-Mart to stop accepting the Interlink debit card.