PRESS RELEASES

January 11, 2022

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making it clear that merchants can choose which payment networks process debit card transactions and to also update its out-of-date debit card swipe fee regulations.

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November 22, 2021

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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November 17, 2021

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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August 11, 2021

Merchants Call on Fed to Swiftly Finalize Proposal to Protect Debit Card Routing Rights

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 […]

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July 14, 2021

Big Banks Should Not Be Priming the Pump to Gouge Consumers and Main Street as Card Volume Rises

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.

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July 09, 2021

Merchants Welcome Biden Order on Competition and Say it Should be Applied to Payments Market

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.

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May 11, 2021

Merchants Call on Fed to Cut Debit Card Swipe Fee Rate as Banks’ Costs Fall, Applaud Routing Announcement

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 […]

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March 19, 2021

Merchants Welcome Reported DOJ Investigation of Visa Debit Card Routing Issues

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 […]

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March 16, 2021

Merchants Welcome Delay of Visa/Mastercard Swipe Fee Hike but Say Fees Are Still Too High

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. […]

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March 11, 2021

Merchants Welcome Durbin Concern that Visa and Mastercard Want to ‘Get Even’ with Swipe Fee Increases

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 […]

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