Merchants Ask Congress to Investigate Visa and Mastercard, Citing Biden Call to Fight Inflation with Competition
The Merchants Payments Coalition today called on Congress to investigate Visa and Mastercard’s anticompetitive dominance over the U.S. credit and debit card markets, citing President Biden’s call in his State of the Union address to fight inflation by increasing competition.
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Merchants’ Ad Campaign Highlights Harm of Credit Card Swipe Fees Ahead of $1.2 Billion Increase
With fees set to rise in April, the Merchants Payments Coalition today announced an advertising campaign to educate Congress and other policymakers on high “swipe” fees credit card networks and big banks charge merchants to process transactions and the impact the fees have on consumers, small businesses and the U.S. economy.
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Merchants Renew Call for U.S. Action on Credit Card ‘Swipe’ Fees After Amazon and Visa Resolve Dispute in UK
The Merchants Payments Coalition renewed its call for U.S. officials to address credit card “swipe” fees following today’s announcement that Amazon has agreed to continue accepting Visa credit cards in the United Kingdom.
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Merchants Tell Congress Credit Card ‘Swipe’ Fees Place Small Businesses at a ‘Distinct Disadvantage’
The Merchants Payments Coalition urged Congress to protect small businesses against rising credit card “swipe” fees as the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing today on ensuring that small and minority-owned businesses share in the nation’s economic recovery.
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Merchants Say Visa Study on Increasing Use of Credit Cards Shows Need to Bring Fees Under Control
A new study by Visa shows the importance of bringing “swipe” fees charged to process credit and debit cards under control as consumers and small businesses move away from cash and the fees exacerbate record inflation in consumer prices, the Merchants Payments Coalition said today.
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Merchants Welcome Fed Paper on Digital Currency, Say Proposal Opens ‘Long-Needed Conversation’ on Payments
The Merchants Payments Coalition today welcomed the Federal Reserve’s new white paper on the potential creation of a central bank digital currency, saying a CBDC could help address the tens of billions of dollars a year in credit and debit card “swipe” fees that drive up prices for consumers.
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Merchants Ask U.S. Authorities to ‘Look Closely’ at Amazon’s Attempt to Reject UK Visa Credit Cards
The Merchants Payments Coalition today called on Congress and federal agencies to “look closely” at Amazon’s recent announcement that it would stop accepting Visa credit cards in the United Kingdom. Even though Amazon changed its mind this week, MPC said the high “swipe” fees that prompted the move are much higher in the United States and drive up consumer prices here even more.
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Merchants Call on Fed to Complete Work on Debit Routing and Fees as Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing on Powell
As the Senate holds confirmation hearings on another term for Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the Merchants Payments Coalition today called on the Fed to finalize its proposal making it clear that merchants can choose which payment networks process debit card transactions and to also update its out-of-date debit card swipe fee regulations.
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Merchants Say Credit Card Fees are Helping Drive Thanksgiving Inflation
As Americans prepare to spend a record amount on Thanksgiving dinner and travel this year, credit card “swipe” fees will contribute significantly to the inflation seen in costs for the holiday, adding millions of dollars to prices paid by consumers, the Merchants Payments Coalition said today.
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Merchants Ask FTC to Investigate Credit Card Companies’ Role in Higher Gasoline Prices
The Merchants Payments Coalition today called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the credit card industry, saying “swipe” fees charged to process transactions have contributed to increases in gasoline prices.
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