Spectrum News: As Americans Begin Their Holiday Shopping, Congress Considers Legislation on Swipe Fees
“We're just arguing for a fair and level playing field so that merchants can really have a choice, which they don't right now, between routing their transactions on two different networks so that if they want to, they can choose the network that, in theory would be less expensive in that scenario,” says Stephanie Martz, Chief Administrative Officer of the National Retail Federation (and MPC Executive Committee member. Martz says the competition between payment networks for business would drive down swipe fees, benefiting consumers. She explained that during the holiday season alone, Americans will pay $21 billion in swipe fees, which amounts to just under $20 per person. “And it's costing households $1,000 a year right now in additional costs, because of the cost of those swipe fees that retailers have to pass along to consumers,” says Martz.
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NACS Daily: Swipe Fees Drive Up Thanksgiving Costs
Rising credit card “swipe” fees will contribute significantly to the cost of celebrating Thanksgiving this year regardless of whether families stay home, eat out or travel, said the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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Digital Transactions: A New York Times Op-Ed Video Favoring the CCCA Sparks a New Tussle Over the Bill
The Merchants Payment Coalition, which supports passage of the CCCA, says the information presented in the New York Times video is “straightforward, factual, and correct,” according to Doug Kantor, MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores general counsel. “Any time people know more of the facts is good for the CCCA,” Kanor says. “The EPC doesn’t like people knowing the facts about problems with the credit card system today.” Kantor added the EPC’s claim that passage of the CCCA would harm card-network data security is not a new argument. “Data from the Federal Reserve shows that network competition lowers fraud rates and that the rate of fraud on the Visa and Mastercard networks is [eight] times higher than that of competing networks,” he says. “Networks will have better fraud protection if allowed to compete.” Kantor points out that after passage of the Durbin Amendment, which capped debit card fees, some debit networks began adopting data encryption as a point of differentiation, which forced other networks to follow suit. “If the CCCA is passed, it will be a race to the top [for networks] in terms of service and security,” Kantor adds.
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New York Times: Your Rewards Card is Actually Bad for You, And For Everyone Else
Opinion video explains why credit card swipe fees mean “all of us are paying more” to “subsidize rewards that go primarily to the wealthy” and “screw over poor people.” The “best deal” to address the issue is the Credit Card Competition Act.
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InsideNoVa: Credit Card 'Swipe' Fees an Unfair Burden
Credit card fees are now most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor and drive up prices more than $1,000 a year for the average family, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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The Lever: Airline Unions Aim to Preserve Sky-High Credit Card Fees
“The large banks that issue these credit cards have complained and run to everyone they do business with to say, ‘You’ve got to oppose this, the sky is falling,’” said Doug Kantor, (MPC Executive Committee member and) general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores, which supports the credit card reforms.
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NerdWallet: What to Expect if the Credit Card Competition Act Passes
“Swipe fees are the second-highest operating cost, on average, for these businesses. Only labor is a higher cost,” says Doug Kantor, general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member). “A big piece of that is that the fees automatically rise with inflation. As we see inflation in the economy, merchants’ costs go up. Convenience store owners are left chasing their tails to try to maintain some profitability with these rapidly rising fees.”
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NACS Daily: New Swipe Fee Coalition Forms
Doug Kantor, Merchants Payments Coalition executive committee member and NACS general counsel, said, “Consumers, hard-working union members and small businesses alike are tired of high credit card fees and the money big Wall Street banks take out of their pockets. Swipe fees cost the average family more than $1,000 per year. It’s time for Congress to protect consumers, workers and small businesses from the central price-setting of the Wall Street giants.”
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WIBW-TV: New Bill Introduced to Infuse Credit Card Industry with Competition
“All of Main Street appreciates the incredible support that Senator Roger Marshall provides every day,” Doug Kantor, General Counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member), said. “Senator Marshall’s Credit Card Competition Act is the most significant piece of legislation under consideration today to help small businesses across the nation. Credit card swipe fees multiply the effects of inflation and hit small businesses the hardest. It’s time for Congress to follow Senator Marshall’s lead and choose their constituents over Wall Street bankers.”
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Credit Card 'Swipe' Fees Drive Up Thanksgiving Costs
Rising credit card “swipe” fees will contribute significantly to the cost of celebrating Thanksgiving this year regardless of whether families stay home, eat out or travel, MPC said.
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