Convenience Store News: U.S. Senators Make Moves to Push Credit Card Reform to a Vote
The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) expressed support for a Senate vote on the act. "It is time for Congress to deal with the hidden credit card fees driving up the prices of nearly everything we buy," MPC Executive Committee member and NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor said. "Credit card companies are now even putting swipe fees on top of tariffs and pushing up prices even more. Congress needs to pass the Credit Card Competition Act to give Main Street and their customers a fighting chance against out-of-control fees." Credit and debit card swipe fees have risen 70% since the COVID-19 pandemic and reached a record $187.2 billion in 2024, according to the MPC.
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Fuel Market News: The Next 48 Hours Are Crucial to Move Credit Card Swipe Fee Reform Forward
“It is time for Congress to deal with the hidden credit card fees driving up the prices of nearly everything we buy,” said NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor, who also serves as an executive committee member of the Merchants Payments Coalition. “Credit card companies are now even putting swipe fees on top of tariffs and pushing up prices even more. The Senate needs to approve the Marshall-Durbin Amendment to give Main Street and their customers a fighting chance against out-of-control fees.”
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Payments Dive: Durbin, Marshall push credit card amendment
The campaign to pass such a bill has been backed by retailers and their trade groups, such as the National Retail Federation and the Merchants Payments Coalition, but has drawn protests from financial institutions and their trade groups, including the Electronic Payments Coalition. ... A vote on the amendment, and perhaps even the GENIUS Act bill, could come as soon as this week, but may extend into next week, following the Memorial Day holiday break on Monday, said Doug Kantor, who serves as general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores (and a member of the MPC Executive Committee). He’s confident that there is “a lot of support for the amendment.” Kantor’s camp has long supported Durbin’s campaign to rein in what they consider the “duopoly” of Visa and Mastercard’s grip on the card network industry. They contend those two networks’ control of the market has driven up card processing fees for merchants and has resulted in higher costs for consumers.
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Politico: Marshall files credit card swipe fee crackdown as crypto bill amendment
Doug Kantor, a representative for the Merchants Payments Coalition, which represents retailers, said in a statement that it "is time for Congress to deal with the hidden credit card fees driving up the prices of nearly everything we buy."
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Nation’s Largest Native American Tribes Endorse Credit Card Competition Act Saying Credit Card Swipe Fees ‘Literally Keep Food Out of Reach’
MPC welcomed a letter from the nation’s largest Native American tribes asking Congress to make the Credit Card Competition Act part of the GENIUS Act in order to hold down rising costs for tribal members.
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Merchants Welcome Move to Attach Credit Card ‘Swipe’ Fee Bill to Stablecoin Legislation Set for Vote in Senate
MPC welcomed a move toward a Senate vote on the Credit Card Competition Act amid growing support of efforts to reduce “swipe” fees that drive up costs for small businesses and prices for consumers by billions of dollars a year.
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Native News Online: Credit & Debit Card Swipes Keep More Than $1,110 Worth of Food Out of Reach for Native Families Annually
The Merchants Payments Coalition today welcomed a letter from some of the nation’s largest Native American tribes urging Congress to include the Credit Card Competition Act in the GENIUS Act, aiming to help reduce rising costs for tribal members.
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State Affairs: Cash or credit? State legislatures mull limiting fees tied to card swipes
A Nilson Report study found U.S. businesses paid a combined total of $187.2 billion in interchange fees in 2024, up from $172 billion in 2023 and up 70% since the pandemic. “With no competition to hold them in check, price-fixed swipe fees rise every year and shot up again last year,” said Christine Pollack, vice president of government relations at the Food Industry Association and a member of the Merchants Payments Coalition executive committee, when the report was released in March. “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,” Pollack said. “These fees contribute to inflation and siphon off money that could be used to hold down prices or invest in local communities. Momentum for swipe fee reform is rapidly growing in Congress, and constituents in every district are calling on lawmakers to stand up for Main Street over Wall Street.”
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MPC Hill Blast: Credit Card Giants Like to Pretend
The credit card giants like to pretend that reforming swipe fees will only help large businesses, but that's just a way to hide what they're doing right now.
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Punchbowl News: How retailers learned to love stablecoins
“We’re living the nightmare already,” Doug Kantor said, who serves as a member of the Merchants Payments Coalition. “The idea that there’s a spooky Big Tech monster around the corner does not seem all that scary to us.”
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