Credit Card Companies Will Make Twice as Much on Easter Eggs as ‘Swipe’ Fees Cost Consumers Over $550 Million
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, MPC said.
READ MORE +
Digital Transactions: Has the Time Come for Stablecoins?
A leading merchant association and a group representing stablecoin interests have thrown their weight behind efforts to bring stablecoins into the U.S. payments mainstream. 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 released last month.
READ MORE +
MxM News: Credit, debit card fees reach all-time high of $187.2 billion
The Merchants Payments Coalition is sounding the alarm after swipe fees for credit and debit card purchases hit a record-breaking $187.2 billion in 2024. In a press release, the group called for Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act, calling the rise in fees “price-fixed” and unsustainable for both small businesses and working families.
READ MORE +
CNBC: Is it worth paying credit card surcharges to earn rewards?
A credit card surcharge is an additional fee businesses charge on purchases made with credit cards. This helps offset the swipe fees credit networks charge businesses for both credit and debit card transactions. These fees average just over 2%, sometimes up to 4% of your purchase, and according to a March 2025 study from the Merchant Payments Coalition, the combined total of credit and debit card swipe fees rose to a record high of $187.2 billion in 2024, an almost 9% increase from the year before, and 70% higher than during the pandemic.
READ MORE +
NACS Daily: Colorado House of Representatives Passes Swipe Fee Reform
Nationally, swipe fees continue to be one of the largest expenses for convenience retailers, and the numbers continue to climb. The Merchants Payments Coalition noted that swipe fees in 2024 totaled $187.2 billion across all of retail, a $15 billion increase over 2023.
READ MORE +
NACS Daily: Swipe Fees Hit Record High in 2024
“As sure as the sun rises in the east, swipe fees go up each year and the credit card industry tells Congress not to believe their own eyes,” said Doug Kantor, NACS general counsel (and MPC Executive Committee member). “But even the Wall Street giants with all their money can’t cover up the truth forever. The credit card market is broken and the 70% national increase in swipe fees since the pandemic is just one more thing showing what any casual observer knows – the credit card market desperately needs reform to stop the financial pain for Main Street America and its customers.”
READ MORE +
CSP Daily News: Credit and Debit Card Swipe Fees Hit Record of $187.2 Billion
At more than $187 billion, credit and debit card interchange fees reached another new record last year, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. MPC said swipe fees are driving up consumer prices, and the group continues to urge Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act. “With no competition to hold them in check, price-fixed swipe fees rise every year and shot up again last year,” said MPC executive committee member Christine Pollack, vice president of government relations at FMI, The Food Industry Association.
READ MORE +
Progressive Grocer: Credit and Debit Card Swipe Fees Reach New Record in 2024
“With no competition to hold them in check, price-fixed swipe fees rise every year and shot up again last year,” said Christine Pollack, MPC executive committee member and VP of government relations at Arlington, Va.-based FMI – The Food Industry Association. “As Main Street small businesses and American families continue to face economic uncertainty, the giant card networks and Wall Street banks continue to take more money out of their pockets every day.”
READ MORE +
Credit Unions Today: Merchants Push For Credit Card Competition Act Amid Record Swipe Fees
The Merchants Payments Coalition is once again stressing the need for Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act, citing 2024’s “record year” credit and debit card “swipe” fees.
READ MORE +
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.
READ MORE +