Center Square: Washington, Maryland lawmakers propose banning credit card swipe fees on sales taxes
“The credit card industry price-fixing swipe fees is bad enough, but taking a slice out of tax dollars before retailers can hand them over to the state of Maryland is unconscionable,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said in a statement. “Retailers have to make up the difference, and that ultimately drives up prices for consumers. It is time for this abuse to end. Marylanders’ tax dollars should not be siphoned off to Wall Street this way and we appreciate legislators looking to solve this unjust problem.”
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North Kentucky Tribune: Hidden credit card fees could put a damper on record spending expected for Valentine’s Day
Industry authority Merchant Payments Coalition estimates that “swipe” fees — which banks charge retailers to process credit and debit card transactions — could add more than $600 million to consumers’ receipts this month. With shoppers projected to spend an average of $188.81, “swipe” fees will account for approximately $4.27 (based on the typical 2.26% rate that Visa and Mastercard charge), about the cost of a standard Valentine’s Day greeting card.
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GV Wire: Credit Card Giants Drain Billions: Can Congress Take Action?
Credit card rewards — paid for by banks — represent a small percentage of the income from credit cards, said Doug Kantor, general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member) at the hearing. Rewards cost banks $41 billion annually compared to the $300 million collected from interest, consumer fees, and swipe fees. And, with an anticipated $16 billion in losses if the Competition Act were approved, Kantor said that amount would not be significant. “If the banking industry, which has the highest profit of any industry in the United States, bar none, can’t make that work, I don’t know what we can do for them,” Kantor said.
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CardRates.com: Legislators Tell Credit Card Issuers to Stay Out of Merchant Tip Jars
The Maryland legislature recently held a hearing to discuss legislation aimed at the issue. Doug Kantor, a member of the Merchants Payments Coalition and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores, spoke at the hearing, highlighting the burden merchants face with interchange fees. “The merchant collects sales tax for the state, but interchange is taken out of the amount on the receipt, which creates a shortfall the merchant must cover,” Kantor said at the hearing.
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Digital Transactiions: The Interchange Battle 2025
Now merchant representatives are optimistic that the issue of card costs may be heading for a resolution. “There’s a growing recognition [among members of Congress] that things need to change when it comes to swipe fees and how the card networks treat businesses,” says Doug Kantor, a Merchants Payments Coalition executive committee member. Kantor, who is also general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores, adds: “Momentum for change is growing, and I think this will be an active year on the legislative front.”
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Crain's Chicago Business: Judge blocks retailers from joining credit card fee fight between Illinois and banks
We think we would have added quite a bit to the case in terms of demonstrating the false claims that banks were making," said Doug Kantor, general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member). "That said, we have a lot of confidence in the Illinois attorney general."
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Convenience Store News: Merchants Support Maryland Legislation to Block Swipe Fees on Sales Tax
"The credit card industry price-fixing swipe fees is bad enough, but taking a slice out of tax dollars before retailers can hand them over them to the state of Maryland is unconscionable," MPC Executive Committee member and NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor said. "Retailers have to make up the difference, and that ultimately drives up prices for consumers. It is time for this abuse to end. Marylanders' tax dollars should not be siphoned off to Wall Street this way and we appreciate legislators looking to solve this unjust problem."
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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business: Retail advocate urges Congress to rein in credit card fees
Banks and credit card companies are swimming in profits and one business and consumer group is urging federal lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at curtailing the credit card swipe fees paid by families and businesses that have fed those profits. Fees to use a credit card for purchases cost the average family more than $1,000 a year and also increase costs for businesses, said the Merchants Payments Coalition
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Fortune: Save more than $1,000 a year by switching to the envelope budget
According to the Merchants Payments Coalition, payment processing fees removed over $27 billion from the coffers of retailers across the country during the 2024 holiday season alone, and $172 billion for the full year in 2023.
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Digital Transactions: Maryland Is the Latest Batter to Take a Swing at Regulating Interchange on Sales Tax and Tips
Also testifying at the hearing was Doug Kantor, a Merchants Payments Coalition executive committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. Arguing for passage of the bill, Kantor said levying interchange on sales tax and tips is unfair to merchants because they don’t keep those portions of the transaction. “The merchant collects sales tax for the state, but interchange is taken out of the amount on the receipt, which creates a shortfall the merchant must cover,” Kantor said. Kantor also told lawmakers that claims state laws regulating interchange would be too hard to implement are false. “The industry has admitted it can be done and Cost Advisor has said its processor can implement this in Illinois by July,” Kantor said. “Even a senior Visa executive told the Georgia legislature this can be done, he just didn’t see the value in doing it.” Cost Advisor Inc. helps merchants reduce their card-acceptance costs.
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