Raleigh News and Observer: Credit card surcharges seem to be everywhere in NC. Who’s paying for them?
Fees aren’t just affecting North Carolinians. The Nilson Report found that in 2025, charges for credit cards totaled nearly $158 billion, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. Nearly $119 billion were swipe fees for Visa and Mastercard, which control more than 80% of the market and set rates for banks issuing their cards.
READ MORE +
Merchants Tell Congress Innovations in Payments ‘Will be Stifled’ if Visa, Mastercard and Banks Still Dominate
MPC welcomed a hearing on innovation in the payments market being held by the House Financial Services Committee, but said innovation will not succeed if Visa, Mastercard and major banks are allowed to continue to dominate the market without competition.
READ MORE +
BGOV Power Play: Merchants' Message
The Merchants Payments Coalition and two dozen other retailer lobbying groups sent a letter to House Financial Services Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) and top Democrat Maxine Waters (Calif.) ahead of today’s hearing on the future of payments. The coalition, which has long lobbied in support of legislation to limit credit card swipe fees, made a pitch for its favorite bill — and against credit card companies. “Some have suggested that cryptocurrency businesses are large enough that Visa, Mastercard and major banks won’t be able to stifle competition from them. That is wishful thinking that ignores the evidence,” wrote the groups, including the National Restaurant Association and the National Association of Convenience Stores.
READ MORE +
MiBolsillo: Americans Pay $158,000 Million in Card Service Fees Alone
According to the latest financial data published by the Nilson Report and amplified by the Merchants Payments Coalition, the sheer scale of this extraction is staggering, with credit card process fees soaring to nearly $158 billion during the 2025 fiscal year, prompting urgent scrutiny of industry giants like Visa and Mastercard.
READ MORE +
Restaurant Business: When times are tough, little things matter
Last year, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition, those fees averaged 2.36% of the transaction amount, up from 2.02% in 2010. While that might not sound like much, it simply adds to the nickeling and diming of the industry.
READ MORE +
MPC Hill Blast: MPC Hill Blast: Big Bank CEOs Get Richer While Grocery, Gas, Electric Prices Go Up
As summer begins, Americans across the country are struggling with rising grocery prices, gas well above $4 per gallon and electric costs at all-time highs. Big bank CEOs, however, aren’t exactly feeling that pain. In fact, the American Banker just reported that “Seven of the largest banks in the nation — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citi, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Capital One Financial — significantly increased their CEOs' pay packages for 2025.”
READ MORE +
The Queen Zone: 12 key insights on payment methods and credit card fees
Retailer groups have pushed this issue hard because the dollar amounts are huge. The Merchants Payments Coalition said credit and debit card swipe fees reached $187.2 billion in 2024, up from $172 billion in 2023.
READ MORE +
Restaurant Business: Where to from here on the swipe fee battle?
In this week’s Working Lunch, Joe Kefauver and Franklin Coley of Align Public Strategies speak with Dan Swanson, counsel to the Merchants Payment Coalition, about the recent court decision and state-level veto in the long-running feud with banks and credit card companies about swipe fees. Swanson will explain what happened and why, and where the restaurant industry can go from here.
READ MORE +
Decatur (Ill.) Radio: Merchants Poll: Americans Want Swipe Fees Reduced
A new poll from the Merchants Payment Coalition finds strong voter support for congressional action on credit and debit card swipe fees. The survey says 75% of likely voters want lawmakers to reduce electronic processing fees charged on card transactions. The results arrive as state-level efforts face setbacks. A federal judge recently blocked Illinois’ Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, which would bar processing fees on the tax and tip portions of purchases.
READ MORE +
Springfield (Mass.) Republican: Judge OKs $38B deal to cut credit card fees despite retailer opposition
“The vast majority of merchants oppose this proposed settlement. We expect many more objections to be filed and to present the court with the profound problems the settlement would bring to the broken credit card market,” NACS (General Counsel and MPC Executive Committee member Doug Kantor) said. “Based on that, we are hopeful that the Judge will refuse to grant final approval and that merchants will have their day in court.”
READ MORE +