Digital Transactions: Battle Lines Harden Over a Proposed CCCA Amendment to the GENIUS Act
“Labor’s position is very clear here, some of the largest unions in the country support the CCCA,” says Doug Kantor, an executive committee member for the Merchants Payments Coalition and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. “While there are unions that do not support the amendment, they are tiny in comparison.”
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New York Times: How a crypto bill could clamp down on credit card fees
“There’s desperate need for a change,” Doug Kantor, an executive committee member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, told DealBook, “and the legislation itself is the lightest possible touch in terms of a change.”
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Punchbowl News: Lobbyists duel over swipe fee push
We spoke to two key lobbyists. Richard Hunt leads the bank- and payment-company backed Electronic Payments Coalition, and Doug Kantor is a member of the Merchants Payments Coalition. Both are projecting confidence. “We’re advocating for the Marshall-Durbin amendment all the ways we know how,” Kantor said. “We’ve had folks here every month since the beginning of the year, and we have folks here again this week too.” ... Kantor argued the CCCA would loosen the dominance of large credit card players. “You need the Credit Card Competition Act in order to clear the way for stablecoin to see its potential, because otherwise the big credit card companies will lock it, dominate it,” Kantor said. As for a vote: Both lobbies think they’ll win a vote on the CCCA if it comes to the floor. “We’ve had these conversations with every office multiple times, and we have a pretty good feel for where people are,” Kantor said.
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MarketWatch: Battle over credit-card swipe fees hits Congress again. What you need to know.
The Merchants Payments Coalition, a lobbying group for retailers and other companies that support the credit-card legislation, said in a recent statement that it’s “time for Congress to deal with the hidden credit-card fees driving up the prices of nearly everything we buy.”
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New York Times: Gen Z Doesn’t Want to Start a Bar Tab
“During and after the pandemic, more people started using cards,” said Doug Kantor, an executive committee member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, a retailers group. ... Credit card fees, which soared 80 percent from 2020 to 2024, according to Mr. Kantor of the Merchants Payments Coalition, are one of the highest operating costs for bars and restaurants besides labor and rent.
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Payments Journal: Credit Card Legislation May Be Amended to Stablecoin Bill
The act has gained support from retail organizations like the Merchant Payments Coalition and the National Retail Federation, but faces significant opposition from financial institutions and the credit card industry.
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Digital Transactions: How CCCA Sponsors See an Opportunity to Advance the Bill
Attaching the CCCA to the Genius Act also made sense because few standalone bills get passed in the Senate. “Amendments are the way the Senate legislates,” says Doug Kantor, an executive committee member for the Merchants Payments Coalition and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. “The opportunity to attach to the GENIUS Act came up before the CCCA could be reintroduced in this Congress.”
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Mass Market Retailers: Retailers back push to tie credit card fee reform to stablecoin bill
The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) and the National Retail Federation (NRF) both issued statements welcoming the introduction of an amendment that would fold the CCCA into the GENIUS Act, a bill establishing regulatory rules for stablecoins. The move, led by Senators Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), could pave the way for the long-anticipated reform of the credit card processing market, where Visa and Mastercard currently dominate with over 80% combined market share. “It is time for Congress to deal with the hidden credit card fees driving up the prices of nearly everything we buy,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said. “Credit card companies are now even putting swipe fees on top of tariffs and pushing up prices even more. Congress needs to pass the Credit Card Competition Act to give Main Street and their customers a fighting chance against out-of-control fees.”
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Semafor: Financial lobbying storm brews over possible credit card-crypto bill pairing
Merchant Payments Coalition’s Doug Kantor said in a statement that “it is time for Congress to deal with the hidden credit card fees driving up the prices of nearly everything we buy.”
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Convenience Store News: U.S. Senators Make Moves to Push Credit Card Reform to a Vote
The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) expressed support for a Senate vote on the act. "It is time for Congress to deal with the hidden credit card fees driving up the prices of nearly everything we buy," MPC Executive Committee member and NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor said. "Credit card companies are now even putting swipe fees on top of tariffs and pushing up prices even more. Congress needs to pass the Credit Card Competition Act to give Main Street and their customers a fighting chance against out-of-control fees." Credit and debit card swipe fees have risen 70% since the COVID-19 pandemic and reached a record $187.2 billion in 2024, according to the MPC.
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