Press Releases
November 22, 2021
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.
November 17, 2021
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.
August 11, 2021
WASHINGTON, August 11, 2021 – A Federal Reserve proposal making it clear that merchants can choose which payment networks process their online debit card transactions is needed because major banks and networks continue to interfere with competition for debit business a decade after legislation was passed by Congress to fix the problem, the Merchants Payments […]
July 14, 2021
The Merchants Payments Coalition today decried outrageous swipe fees pocketed by big banks, which have reported dramatic increases in credit and debit card volume this week as Main Street still struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 09, 2021
The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed an executive order on competition signed today by President Joe Biden and called for its principles to be applied to address lack of competition in the payments market.
May 11, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: J. Craig Shearman(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com WASHINGTON, May 11, 2021 – The Merchants Payments Coalition called on the Federal Reserve today to revise debit card swipe fee regulations adopted a decade ago, citing a new Fed report showing banks’ average cost of processing the transactions has fallen by half. MPC also welcomed the […]
March 19, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: J. Craig Shearman(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com WASHINGTON, March 19, 2021 – The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed published reports today that the Department of Justice is investigating whether Visa is engaging in anticompetitive practices related to how debit card transactions are routed for processing. “The MPC has been concerned about these practices to limit […]
March 16, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: J. Craig Shearman(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com WASHINGTON, March 16, 2021 – The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed today’s announcement by Visa and Mastercard that nearly $1.2 billion in credit card swipe fee increases will be postponed for a year, but said existing fees are already too high and need to be addressed by Congress. […]
March 11, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: J. Craig Shearman(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com WASHINGTON, March 11, 2021 – The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed attention brought to rising credit card processing fees by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., during an antitrust hearing today. Durbin, who authored legislation that brought transparency, competition and predictability to debit card fees in […]
March 03, 2021
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEContact: J. Craig Shearman(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com WASHINGTON, March 3, 2021 – The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed a letter sent today by Senator Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., and Representative Peter Welch, D-Vt., calling on Visa and Mastercard to cancel a nearly $1.2 billion increase in credit card processing fees scheduled to take effect in […]