In The News
August 09, 2022
Both FMI and NGA are members of the Merchants Payments Coalition, which for nearly two decades has fought for swipe fee reform, including the passage in 2010 of the Durbin Amendment, a landmark law that prevents financial institutions from price-gouging debit interchange fees and led to increased competition and transparency in the debit marketplace.
August 08, 2022
While trade groups representing the card networks and their financial institution partners, like the Electronic Payments Coalition, are already vocally attacking the bill, large merchant groups, such as the National Retail Federation and the Merchants Payments Coalition, are predictably egging the legislation on.
August 05, 2022
The swipe fees banks charge retailers to process credit cards will add an estimated $2.5 billion to the cost of everything, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. That amounts to almost $20 in swipe fees for the average family, according to a press release from the coalition, or the price of a lunch box. "Swipe fees are a hidden tax on almost everything Americans buy regardless of whether they pay with cards or cash," MPC executive committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said in the release.
August 04, 2022
Despite pushback from smaller financial institutions, experts with the National Association of Convenience Stores and the Merchants Payments Coalition are emphasizing the bill's focus on the larger organizations and the possible benefits for store owners. Doug Kantor, general counsel for the convenience store group and a member of the payments coalition, explained that costs can be lowered by promoting competition among card networks and larger financial institutions. "Our view is still that a competitive market is better for everyone, where smaller institutions like credit unions are already disadvantaged in the marketplace. … I think [credit unions] might welcome a more competitive marketplace that would potentially give them a better opportunity to compete when larger issuers would have requirements that they wouldn't have," Kantor said.
August 01, 2022
Merchants and some experts are optimistic that the bill could eventually make credit card fees more affordable. “If one network lowers its swipe fees, merchants will favour that network and others will do the same in order to compete,” said Doug Kantor, executive committee member of the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) and general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores. “Routing choice means market forces will govern swipe fees and the market will eventually settle on rates that are fair to merchants, banks, card networks and consumers alike,” Kantor told VIXIO.
July 29, 2022
The bill is already touching off a continuation of the battle that has long pitted retailers and merchants on one side against the card networks and the bank issuers on the other. While supporters of the bill, such as the Merchant Payments Coalition, said it’s likely to attract bi-partisan support, given its reliance on competition to address high fees, long-time detractors of such moves, including the Electronic Payments Coalition, have already expressed concerns about the bill and appear unlikely to back it.
July 29, 2022
Citing Atlanta-based payments consulting firm CMSPI, the Merchants Payments Coalition noted that competition in the area of credit card processing could save merchants and customers $11 billion or more annually. A 2010 federal law similarly requiring routing choice for debit cards has saved merchants an estimated $9.4 billion a year, with 70% of savings passed along to consumers, the coalition said.
July 29, 2022
The Merchants Payments Coalition lobbied for the bill. Representatives said it could help lower costs for both merchants and consumers already impacted by high inflation. Doug Kantor, an executive committee member for the coalition, told Bloomberg that the bill could create $11 billion in overall savings.
July 29, 2022
The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed the introduction of bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin and Roger Marshall that would let merchants choose which payments networks process credit card transactions, saying the measure would create long-sought competition that could save businesses and consumers billions of dollars a year. “This landmark bill would end a part of the Visa-Mastercard duopoly that has blocked competition for decades,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said.
July 28, 2022
MPC welcomed bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin and Roger Marshall that would let merchants choose which payments networks process credit card transactions, saying the measure would create long-sought competition that could save businesses and consumers billions of dollars a year.