Credit Card ‘Swipe’ Fees Could Cost Consumers Over $600 Million on Valentine’s Day
Rising swipe fees banks charge merchants to process credit and debit card transactions could cost consumers well over $600 million in higher prices for Valentine’s Day this year, MPC said.
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Convenience Store News: Merchants Support Maryland Legislation to Block Swipe Fees on Sales Tax
"The credit card industry price-fixing swipe fees is bad enough, but taking a slice out of tax dollars before retailers can hand them over them to the state of Maryland is unconscionable," MPC Executive Committee member and NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor said. "Retailers have to make up the difference, and that ultimately drives up prices for consumers. It is time for this abuse to end. Marylanders' tax dollars should not be siphoned off to Wall Street this way and we appreciate legislators looking to solve this unjust problem."
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Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business: Retail advocate urges Congress to rein in credit card fees
Banks and credit card companies are swimming in profits and one business and consumer group is urging federal lawmakers to pass a bill aimed at curtailing the credit card swipe fees paid by families and businesses that have fed those profits. Fees to use a credit card for purchases cost the average family more than $1,000 a year and also increase costs for businesses, said the Merchants Payments Coalition
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Fortune: Save more than $1,000 a year by switching to the envelope budget
According to the Merchants Payments Coalition, payment processing fees removed over $27 billion from the coffers of retailers across the country during the 2024 holiday season alone, and $172 billion for the full year in 2023.
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Digital Transactions: Maryland Is the Latest Batter to Take a Swing at Regulating Interchange on Sales Tax and Tips
Also testifying at the hearing was Doug Kantor, a Merchants Payments Coalition executive committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. Arguing for passage of the bill, Kantor said levying interchange on sales tax and tips is unfair to merchants because they don’t keep those portions of the transaction. “The merchant collects sales tax for the state, but interchange is taken out of the amount on the receipt, which creates a shortfall the merchant must cover,” Kantor said. Kantor also told lawmakers that claims state laws regulating interchange would be too hard to implement are false. “The industry has admitted it can be done and Cost Advisor has said its processor can implement this in Illinois by July,” Kantor said. “Even a senior Visa executive told the Georgia legislature this can be done, he just didn’t see the value in doing it.” Cost Advisor Inc. helps merchants reduce their card-acceptance costs.
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Chain Drug Review: Merchants Payments Coalition supports Maryland’s bill to end swipe fees on sales tax
“The credit card industry price-fixing swipe fees is bad enough, but taking a slice out of tax dollars before retailers can hand them over to the state of Maryland is unconscionable,” said Doug Kantor, MPC Executive Committee member and General Counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. “Retailers have to make up the difference, and that ultimately drives up prices for consumers. It is time for this abuse to end.”
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Merchants Back Maryland Legislation to Ban Credit Card Swipe Fees on Sales Tax
MPC voiced support for state legislation that would block credit card networks and banks from charging Maryland merchants “swipe” fees on the sales tax portion of transactions.
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RV Business: OHI, Owners Advocate for Credit Card Competition Act
This week, members of OHI leadership along with 14 campground members from across the country joined forces with the Merchant Payments Coalition in DC to advocate on Capitol Hill for the Credit Card Competition Act, legislation that will provide competition in the credit card swipe fees marketplace and ultimately save small businesses like RV parks and campgrounds thousands of dollars each year.
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Record Profits at Giant Card Issuer JPMorgan Chase Show Need to Address Credit Card Swipe Fees
As Congress focuses on huge profits in the credit card industry, record annual profits reported this week by the nation’s largest card issuer show the need for lawmakers to address soaring swipe fees charged to process transactions, MPC said.
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Digital Transactions: Expecting A CCCA Revival, Opponents Spell Out the Bill’s Economic Impact
“This study is a piece of warmed-over fantasy that presents discredited assumptions about the CCCA’s impact on rewards cards,” says Doug Kantor, an executive committee member for the Merchants Payments Coalition and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. “Card issuers earn more than $300 billion annually in interest income and cardholder fees and pay out just $41 billion annually in rewards.” Issuers could pay “six times” what they currently pay in rewards and “still have plenty of profit left over,” Kantor adds.
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