In The News

Modern Campground: OHI, Merchants Payments Coalition Work Together to Reduce Credit Card Fees for RV Parks, Campgrounds

OHI, formerly known as the National Association of RV Parks and Campgrounds, has joined the Merchants Payments Coalition to lower credit card fees for RV parks, and campgrounds.

Motley Fool: Bull Market Buys: 3 Dow Stocks to Own for the Long Run

In this vein, the Merchants Payments Coalition reports total swipe fees collected by credit card middlemen grew from $160 billion in 2022 to a record-breaking $172 billion last year, reflecting the impact of this shift. Again, however, there's plenty more room for this trend to continue.

Digital Transactions: Merchants Get an Extension to File Monetary Claims in the Big Credit Card Settlement

The court’s decision to grant a filing extension is not a surprise, as it is not unusual from an administrative standpoint to grant plaintiffs extra time to file claims for monetary awards, says Doug Kantor, an MPC executive committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores.

Financial World: Visa and Mastercard Settle Long-Running Dispute with Merchants

The Merchants Payments Coalition, representing a broad array of retailers, supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations, and online merchants, has voiced concerns that the temporary fee reductions are insufficient. “The settlement does nothing to actually bring competitive market forces to swipe fees or change the behavior of a cartel that centrally fixes rates and bars competition,” said Christopher Jones, a member of the coalition’s executive committee and senior vice president of government relations at the National Grocers Association. He argued that the settlement offers only token, temporary relief, allowing card companies to raise rates again in the future.

Digital Transactions: The MPC Fires Back at Claims Merchants Won’t Pass Along CCCA Savings to Consumers

Claims by banks that merchants won’t pass along savings from the Credit Card Competition Act to consumers are grossly misleading and do not reflect the economic realities merchants face, argues the Merchants Payments Coalition, a lobbying group representing sellers on payments-acceptance matters.

Payments Journal: Fed Receives Overwhelming Response to Proposed Interchange Fee Changes

Payments Journal: Fed Receives Overwhelming Response to Proposed Interchange Fee Changes

On the merchant side, the National Retail Federation questioned if the changes would still leave the cap too high. They encouraged the Fed to consider routinely updating the interchange cap in years to come. In the same vein, the Merchants Payments Coalition supported the rate reduction and proposed lower rates.

Finance Magnates: Debit Card Fees and the Power Struggle Between Merchants and Banks

The Merchants Payments Coalition estimates that exempting more banks from regulations would translate to an additional $4-5 billion annually in swipe fees. This comes at a particularly inopportune time, as merchants are already grappling with rising inflation. For many, these additional fees could erode already thin profit margins.

Digital Transactions: A Bill That Would Cut the Number of Banks Covered by Durbin Advances Out of Committee

The closeness of the vote suggests many committee members have concerns about the impact of increasing debit card fees on merchants. “The vote shows that members of the committee are realizing that voting to increase inflation is not good policy or good politics,” says Doug Kantor, an MPC executive committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. Kantor adds that the committee had discussed changes to the proposed asset cap for debit card issuers, and suspects that changes will be required before the bill can advance to a vote by the House. “It’s unlikely that the bill will come to a vote unless changes are made,” Kantor says. “[Being] pro-inflation is not a good thing.”

Merchants Say Allowing More Banks to Price-Fix Debit Card Swipe Fees Would Cost Consumers Billions

MPC called on the House Financial Services Committee to reject a legislative proposal that would allow scores of large banks to price-fix their debit card swipe fees, saying the move could cost consumers as much as $5 billion.