In The News
September 21, 2022
The Merchants Payments Coalition lobbied for the bill earlier this year, saying it could help lower costs for both merchants and consumers already burdened by high inflation.
September 20, 2022
“Swipe fees for credit cards are higher in the United States than anywhere else in the industrialized world — more than seven times as high as Europe,” (the Merchants Payments Coalition and hundreds of businesses) wrote in a letter to lawmakers last week. “They are an inflation multiplier.”
September 20, 2022
“The Credit Card Competition Act will help Main Street businesses and consumers deal with credit card swipe fees that have exploded to more than $900 per American family each year,” (Doug) Kantor said, who is a MPC Executive Committee member. “Representatives Welch and Gooden should be commended for their willingness to stand up against powerful Wall Street megabanks that all agree to charge the same centrally fixed prices to the detriment of American consumers and small businesses."
September 20, 2022
The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) noted credit and debit card swipe fees reached a record $137.8 billion last year. For most merchants, those fees are the highest operating cost after labor. They’re also passed on to consumers, the MPC contended, driving up consumer prices by about $900 a year for the average family in 2021. “U.S. swipe fees are the highest in the industrialized world and the card industry wants to keep them hidden so American families don’t know how much they’re paying,” said MPC Executive Committee member Doug Kantor in a news release. “This legislation would make card networks compete and give them incentives to improve service and security while keeping costs in check.”
September 19, 2022
The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed House introduction of the Credit Card Competition Act by Representatives Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Lance Gooden, R-Texas.
September 14, 2022
“The Credit Card Competition Act would bring much-needed relief to retailers and American consumers by simply requiring that Visa and Mastercard compete with other networks for both merchant and bank business,” the Merchants Payments Coalition, which represents merchant trade groups, said in the letter.
September 14, 2022
The letters—signed by 1,668 companies and 231 trade associations—were sent to all members of the House and Senate by the Merchants Payments Coalition. Both asked lawmakers to co-sponsor or support S. 4674, the Credit Card Competition Act, which was introduced in July by Sen. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Marshall (R-Kan.). Signers include retailers, grocers, convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants, hotels and a wide variety of other merchants of all sizes, along with associations representing the same sectors.
September 14, 2022
Hundreds of small retailers were among nearly 1,700 merchants signing an MPC letter to Congress: “Swipe fees for credit cards are higher in the United States than anywhere else in the industrialized world—more than seven times as high as Europe,” said the merchant group, which includes a diverse assortment of small businesses like gas stations, restaurants and grocers along with giant chain retailers. “In 2021 alone, U.S. merchants and consumers paid nearly $138 billion in card fees.”
September 14, 2022
More than 200 merchant trade associations and close to 1,700 companies ranging from Main Street small businesses to national chains called on Congress to support legislation sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin and Roger Marshall that would finally bring badly needed competition to the credit card market.
August 26, 2022
Merchants from across Kansas met with Senator Roger Marshall to emphasize how lack of competition over credit card processing drives up prices paid by consumers and thanked him for introducing the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act.