Credit and Debit Card ‘Swipe’ Fees Hit New Record of $187.2 Billion, Driving Up Prices for American Families
Led by Visa and Mastercard once again, credit and debit card “swipe” fees reached another new record – $187.2 billion – last year, driving up consumer prices and further showing the need for Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act, MPC said.
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Payments Dive: Retail, crypto groups converge to back stablecoin legislation
The Merchants Payments Coalition and the cryptocurrency interest trade group Payment Choice Coalition issued a joint press release Thursday to say they’re working together to promote “innovation, competition and choice in U.S. payments.”
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Digital Transactions: How Business Groups Are Pushing for Stablecoin Acceptance
A leading merchant association and a group representing stablecoin interests early Thursday threw their weight behind efforts to bring stablecoins into the payments mainstream in the United States. The move by the Merchant Payments Coalition and the Payment Choice Coalition seeks to “promote their shared goals of enhancing innovation, competition, and choice in U.S. payments,” the two groups said in a statement.
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Hotel Owners Call Credit Card Swipe Fees ‘Worse Than What OPEC Does’
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association, a leading member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, is calling on Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act to bring down credit card “swipe” fees that drive up consumer prices.
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American Banker: Why Mastercard's U.K. settlement won't translate elsewhere
Visa and Mastercard expressed disappointment with the rejection of the U.S. settlement at the time, Members of the National Grocers Association and the Merchant Payments Coalition said the settlement would provide only temporary relief from fees. "Visa and Mastercard have been trying to resolve the issue through settlements, but they keep getting thrown out by the courts, with the U.K. case being a notable exception," Aaron McPherson, principal at AFM Consulting, told American Banker, noting the U.K. settlement was well below the plaintiffs' claim.
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Digital Transactions: Observers And Lawmakers Handicap the CCCA’s Chances As It Heads Back to Congres
“The Senate Judiciary Committee [hearing in November] showed there was a lot of support across the aisle, and even skeptics indicated it would pass. It is just a question of when,” says Doug Kantor, an executive committee member for the Merchants Payments Coalition and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. “From our perspective, there is a lot of support across the aisle.”
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Payments Dive: Durbin to reintroduce credit card competition bill
“The hearing in the Senate Judiciary committee last year gave a lot of momentum to the Credit Card Competition Act” legislation, Doug Kantor, general counsel for the National Association of Convenience stores, said in an interview Tuesday. That hearing “showed that there is very broad bipartisan support” for the bill. “Even skeptics believe it will pass, and it’s just a matter of time,” added Kantor, who is also a member of the executive committee of the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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MPC Hill Blast: Record Debt, Record Fees
Americans’ credit card debt has hit a new record: $1.21 Trillion! And, that’s at a time when the average credit card interest rate is 24.21%. So, if credit card debt and interest stayed at those levels this year, the Wall Street banks and other issuers of credit cards would be in line to make . . . $292.941 billion in interest this year.
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Yemeni American Merchants Say Some Small Businesses ‘Will Not Make It’ Under High Credit Card Swipe Fees
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WDKY-TV: Record Valentine’s Day spending expected in Kentucky
This year, the average shopper is expected to spend $189 on Valentine’s Day gifts. On top of that, the Merchant Payments Coalition warns consumers should be aware of rising swipe fees on credit and debit cards. Credit card companies are expected to charge shoppers over $600 million in hidden costs.
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