Gifts and Decorative Accessories: Illinois Bans Swipe Fees on Sales Tax and Tips, But Banks are Battling It
“Banks are desperate to deny reality,” said Doug Kantor, Merchants Payments Coalition executive committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores general counsel. “They want the court to ignore the fact that banks don’t set swipe fees and that Visa and Mastercard do. Banks hide behind price-setting by those credit card giants — and now the credit card giants are trying to hide behind banks in court to overturn a sensible law. It is simply unfair for merchants to pay swipe fees on tax and tip money that they must give to the state or employees. The credit card giants should stop punishing merchants for providing a service to the state and employees.”
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CSP Daily News: Can stablecoins cut c-store swipe fees?
At more than $187 billion, credit and debit card interchange fees reached another new record last year, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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Gifts and Decorative Accessories: Big Bank Profits ‘Rapidly Rising’ While Small Businesses Suffer the Swipe-Fee Consequences
“Whether it’s annual fees charged directly to consumers or processing fees charged to merchants that drive up prices consumers pay, banks are taking more out of our pockets every day,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Retail Federation Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Stephanie Martz said. “Some Wall Street banks have profit margins 10 times as large as those seen by retailers, and they make those profits on the backs of small businesses struggling to keep their doors open. Congress needs to stand up for Main Street by bringing competition to our nation’s broken payments system.”
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CNN: Credit card rewards benefit the rich the most. Here’s who actually pays for them
“Credit card companies (are) working to serve the most affluent customers more and more,” said Doug Kantor, general counsel at the trade group National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member). These companies “try to get (high earners) more rewards at everyone else’s expense by pushing those costs on to everyone.”
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Punchbowl News: Credit card lobby gets spooky on swipe fees
We should note that the banks aren’t the first to dive into the Halloween milieu for this issue. The Merchants Payments Coalition warned that swipe fees would cost U.S. families “over $300 million” on Halloween-related expenses last month. (“A nightmare on every street,” they said.)
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RV Travel: Is it right we have to pay a banker every time we visit a popular national park?
The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) cited findings from payment consultants CMSPI that showed in 2023 that the swipe fee rate for Visa and Mastercard credit cards averaged 2.91% of the transaction amount (we at RVtravel.com pay a little more than that).
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CNBC: How stablecoins could change the way Americans shop in stores
“There’s tremendous potential in stablecoins. It should disrupt, to some extent, the traditional payment space we have today with credit and debit cards,” said Doug Kantor, general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member). “It has the promise of faster, cheaper, more efficient and frankly, more convenient transactions for consumers and businesses.”
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Gifts and Decorative Accessories: $300 Million of Consumers’ Halloween Dollars are Going Here and It’s Not on Decor
“Swipe” fees banks charge merchants to process credit card transactions will drive up the price of Halloween items by more than $300 million this year, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. “While kids are hoping for treats, Visa and Mastercard are playing their usual tricks on American parents,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Retail Federation Senior Director of Government Relations Dylan Jeon said. “The megabanks and global card networks drive up prices for virtually everything we buy for Halloween. It’s time to make the monopolists play by the rules by passing the Credit Card Competition Act. The card industry needs to compete over swipe fees like small businesses compete every day or the whole year will continue to be a nightmare on every street.”
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C-Store Decisions: Halloween Swipe Fees Projected to Cost Over $300 Million
As Halloween season approaches, retailers are stocking up on the supplies customers might look for. “Swipe” fees, however, will drive up the price of Halloween items by more than $300 million this year, the Merchants Payments Coalition said. “While kids are hoping for treats, Visa and Mastercard are playing their usual tricks on American parents,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Retail Federation Senior Director of Government Relations Dylan Jeon said. “The megabanks and global card networks drive up prices for virtually everything we buy for Halloween. It’s time to make the monopolists play by the rules by passing the Credit Card Competition Act. The card industry needs to compete over swipe fees like small businesses compete every day or the whole year will continue to be a nightmare on every street.”
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Mass Market Retailers: Swipe fees cost households $1,800 a year
“These numbers show just how broken the payments market really is,” said Jennifer Hatcher, MPC executive committee member and FMI chief public policy officer. “Swipe fees are an even larger burden on small businesses and consumers than we knew previously. They drive up the price of almost everything consumers buy.”
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