FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: J. Craig Shearman
(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com
WASHINGTON, April 15, 2025 – Big banks and credit card networks will make twice as much on a dozen Easter eggs this year as the rising “swipe” fees they charge merchants to process transactions cost families celebrating the holiday more than $550 million, the Merchants Payments Coalition said today.
“Soaring credit card swipe fees are one of the factors that keep pressing egg prices higher and are bad news for struggling families,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Retail Federation Senior Director of Government Relations Dylan Jeon said. “This is a perfect example of how card companies benefit from inflation and how swipe fees act as a multiplier for inflation. Swipe fees jumped to their highest level ever last year and they increase the cost of everything in the Easter basket whether it’s colorful eggs, chocolate bunnies, or tiny Peeps. That’s one of the many reasons more members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are saying it’s time to do something about these ever-increasing fees.”
The National Retail Federation’s annual survey estimates that consumers will spend an average $189.26 on Easter-related items this year for a total of $23.6 billion.
Based on the new record 2.35% average swipe fee rate for Visa and Mastercard credit cards, $4.45 per shopper will go to banks and card networks rather than the merchant when customers pay by credit card. Last year, that would have easily exceeded the price of a dozen eggs, which then averaged $2.99. At this year’s average of $6.23 in March, it equals about nine eggs. But banks and card networks will make about 15 cents in swipe fees on each dozen eggs this year, up from just under 7 cents last year, thanks both to the higher price and the increase in the average swipe fee from 2.26%.
Whether they’re charged on eggs or peeps, swipe fees quickly add up. If all Easter purchases were made with credit cards, swipe fees would account for $554.6 million of the total. The actual amount is difficult to calculate because purchases are split between credit cards and debit cards, which have a lower swipe fee, and some are made with cash. But cash accounted for only 16% of purchases in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve, and its use is rapidly declining as more spending moves online and more consumers use plastic for in-store purchases.
Swipe fees would account for $173.9 million of the $7.4 billion NRF says consumers are expected to spend on food, $89.3 million of $3.8 billion spent on gifts, $82.3 million of $3.5 billion spent on clothing, $77.6 million of $3.3 billion spent on candy, $44.7 of $1.9 billion spent on flowers, and $40 million of the $1.7 billion spent on decorations.
The $4.45 average per family easily exceeds the price of a $2.69 tie-dye egg decorating kit or a $3 plastic Easter basket, is three times the cost of a $1.47 eight-count pack of Peeps, and takes a big bite out of a $4.99 hollow chocolate bunny. Swipe fees can be as much as 4%, so the actual impact could be even higher.
Credit and debit card swipe fees have more than doubled over the past decade and soared to a record $187.2 billion in 2024. Swipe fees for Visa and Mastercard credit cards alone nearly tripled from $39.1 billion in 2014 to $111.2 billion in 2024. Swipe fees are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor and are too much to absorb, driving up prices paid by the average family by nearly $1,200 a year.
The impact on Easter comes as bipartisan House and Senate supporters are preparing to reintroduce the Credit Card Competition Act for this year’s session of Congress.
Visa and Mastercard – which control 80% of the market – each centrally set the swipe fees charged by banks that issue cards under their brands, and also block transactions from being processed over other networks that could do the job with lower fees and better security. The legislation would require banks with at least $100 billion in assets to enable cards they issue to be processed over at least two unaffiliated networks – Visa or Mastercard plus a competitor like NYCE, Star, Shazam or Discover.
Banks would choose which networks to enable but merchants would then decide which to use, resulting in competition over fees, security and service that is expected to save merchants and consumers $17 billion a year, according to payments consulting firm CMSPI. Rewards would not be affected, security would be improved, consumers would still use the same cards, and community banks and all but one credit union would be exempt.
About MPC
The Merchants Payments Coalition represents retailers, supermarkets, convenience stores, gasoline stations, online merchants and others fighting for a more competitive and transparent card system that is fair to consumers and merchants. Follow MPC on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn for the latest on swipe fees.
