Kansas Merchants Meet with Marshall on Need for Competition Over Credit Card 'Swipe' Fees
Merchants from across Kansas met with Senator Roger Marshall to emphasize how lack of competition over credit card processing drives up prices paid by consumers and thanked him for introducing the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act.
READ MORE +Merchants Say Credit Card Legislation Would Introduce Long-Awaited Competition While Saving Consumers Billions
MPC welcomed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin and Roger Marshall that would let merchants choose which payments networks process credit card transactions, saying the measure would create long-sought competition that could save businesses and consumers billions of dollars a year.
READ MORE +Merchants Say Credit Card 'Swipe' Fees Will Add $2.5 Billion to Back-to-School Spending
“Swipe” fees banks charge merchants to process credit card transactions will contribute an estimated $2.5 billion to the cost of everything from crayons to computers as American families hit with rising inflation send their children back to school and college this year, the Merchants Payments Coalition said. That amounts to almost $20 in swipe fees for the average family.
READ MORE +Merchants Say Credit Card 'Swipe' Fees Will Add to Inflation for Those Celebrating Fourth of July
“Swipe” fees banks charge merchants to process credit card transactions will add hundreds of millions of dollars to the cost of everything from food to fireworks as Americans struggling amid rampant inflation celebrate Independence Day this year, the Merchants Payments Coalition said.
READ MORE +With Powell Confirmed, Merchants Say It's Time for Fed to Complete Work on Debit Routing and Fees
As the Senate confirmed Chairman Jerome Powell for another term today, the Merchants Payments Coalition called on the Federal Reserve to finalize a year-old proposal clarifying that merchants can choose which payment networks process debit card transactions regardless of whether purchases are made in stores or online.
READ MORE +Merchants Testify Before Congress That Lack of Competition Has Led to Soaring Credit Card Swipe Fees
The Merchants Payments Coalition today called on Congress to bring competition to the U.S. credit card market, saying decades of domination by Visa and Mastercard has shut out innovation and led to soaring “swipe” fees that are a burden for small businesses, drive up prices for consumers and contribute to inflation.
READ MORE +Merchants Welcome Senate Hearing on Anticompetitive Credit Card Industry Practices Fueling Inflation
The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed today’s announcement that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing next week on anticompetitive practices by the credit card industry that have led credit card “swipe” fees to more than double over the past decade and are driving up prices as consumers face near-record inflation.
READ MORE +Letter Shows Both Republicans and Democrats Support Credit Card Swipe Fee Competition Amid Rising Inflation
The Merchants Payments Coalition today welcomed a letter from bipartisan members of the House and Senate asking Visa and Mastercard to withdraw credit card swipe fee increases set to take effect this month, and agreed that the increases would drive up prices paid by consumers already facing high inflation.
READ MORE +Merchants Ask House Committee to Add Swipe Fees to Examination of Bank Fees ‘Costing Consumers Billions’
The Merchants Payments Coalition today asked the House Financial Services Committee to go beyond overdraft fees as it looks into bank fees “costing consumers billions,” saying credit and debit card swipe fees should be considered as well.
READ MORE +Credit Card Fees Swipe More Than Two Dozen Easter Eggs and Cost Consumers Millions on Easter Purchases This Year
Hidden “swipe” fees charged by big banks and credit card networks to process transactions could cost the average consumer the equivalent of two dozen eggs this Easter and total hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide, the Merchants Payments Coalition said today.
READ MORE +