WinCo Foods' three Oklahoma City metro locations will stop accepting credit cards on Aug. 1.

In a Facebook post, the company said the policy is a cost-saving measure.

"This was a difficult decision made after long and thoughtful consideration, but with inflation so high it was important for us to do whatever we can to keep our prices low," the company said.

The decision appears to bring the company's central Oklahoma stores in line with existing policies at other WinCo stores across the country. Although the stores will no longer accept credit cards, customers will still be able to use cash, debit cards, check, EBT, WIC and WinCo gift cards as forms of payment.

"At WinCo, our goal is to offer the same quality products other stores offer, but at overall combined lower prices. There are many different strategies and features that help us accomplish this; and eliminating credit card fees is one of them," the company said in the Facebook post.

"At this point, the rates we pay on every credit card transaction are drastically higher than the rates for debit cards, and while other stores simply pass this cost to their customers via higher prices throughout their stores (or additional fees), with rising costs of inflation it has become extremely difficult to absorb that added expense while staying true to our mission of being the area's supermarket low price leader."

Inflation, along with supply chain disruptions and the lingering economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and international conflict have fueled higher prices at grocery stores. To ease that pressure, officials in Oklahoma have discussed eliminating the state's sales tax on groceries, but a deal hasn't yet been reached.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma City WinCo Foods stores will stop accepting credit cards