Convenience Store News: Retail Groups Say Swipe Fees Will Push Easter Holiday Costs Higher
Rising swipe fees — the fees big banks and credit card networks charge merchants to process transactions — could cost the average consumer the equivalent of a dozen eggs this Easter and potentially total more than half a billion dollars nationwide, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC).
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NACS Daily: Merchants Call for Action as Swipe Fees Rise Again
“These fees are a multiplier for already high inflation and drive up costs for small businesses and prices for American consumers every day," MPC Executive Committee member and NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor said. "Fees are going up nearly twice as fast as card volume, so this is not just a matter of increased card spending.”
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Gifts and Decorative Accessories: Credit Card Industry 'Putting its Hands in the Easter Basket' Thanks to Rising Costs
“The card industry will be putting its hand in the Easter basket again this year as rising swipe fees contribute to the cost of everything from Peeps to chocolate bunnies,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said.
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Gifts and Decorative Accessories: Merchants Call for Action as Swipe Fees Rise to '$1,000 Per Family'
The Merchants Payments Coalition is calling on Congress and the Federal Reserve to move quickly to address credit and debit card swipe fees, citing new data showing the fees increased dramatically again last year and now cost the average family more than $1,000 a year.
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Supermarket News: Credit Unions Attack the Credit Card Competition Act
In response to the letter, Doug Kantor, executive committee member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, said in a statement that credit unions will be helped by the Credit Card Competition Act. He noted that the bill applies only to financial institutions with at least $100 billion in assets and that only one credit union in the nation meets that test.
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Payments Dive: Battle Over Expected Durbin Bill Ensures
“Only one credit union in the entire nation meets that test and the rest are exempt,” National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said in response to the letter. “And, the exempt institutions would be more attractive to Visa and Mastercard – helping those small credit unions overcome the disadvantage they have in the market today.”
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Payments Dive: Retailers Oppose Banks Seeking More Time on Debit Routing Rule
The Merchants Payments Coalition opposed the banks’ request for a deadline extension. The merchant and retail trade group argued in the release that it’s high time the card issuers and networks adhere to regulations put in place years ago. National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor contended they don’t deserve any additional time. “Congress told banks and card networks a dozen years ago to implement routing choice for all debit card transactions and that meant both in-store and online,” said Kantor, who is also an MPC executive committee member. “That law has saved merchants and their customers billions of dollars for in-store transactions, but the card industry has continued its anticompetitive practices when it comes to online transactions.”
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Credit Unions Today: 'Nothing Romantic' About Swipe Fees on Valentine's Day, Says Merchant Group
The MPC cited data from the national Retail Federation that show consumers are expected to spend an average $193 on Valentine’s Day items such as candy, flowers, jewelry, greeting cards, clothing and evenings out this year for a total of $25.9 billion. Based on the average 2.22% rate for Visa and Mastercard, that would include $4.28 in swipe fees – as much as a Valentine’s greeting card or a piece of chocolate from a mid-priced gift box – and would add up to $575 million nationwide if all purchases were made with credit cards, according to the MPC.
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Digital Transactions: Georgia Takes Aim at Interchange Levied on Sales Tax
In general, these swipe fees are one of the highest operating costs for merchants, after labor, and are typically built into pricing, which drives up the cost of goods and services for the average family by about $1,000 a year, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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American Banker: Bank Groups Ask Fed for More Time to Comply With New Debit Network Rule
MPC pushed back against the banking groups' request, arguing that card issuers have had ample time to prepare. In a response letter, the group noted that the rule change has been in the works for two years, and that banks and credit unions should have been started preparing for this change after Dodd-Frank. "They've already had their delay and shouldn't be allowed to continue dragging their feet," MPC executive committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said in a written statement. "This is just a stalling tactic to let them continue operating under a virtual monopoly rather than having to compete like other businesses. The time for competition over online debit transactions has come, and implementation should take effect as scheduled."
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