San Bernadino (Calif.) Sun: Rising swipe fees impacting back-to-school prices
The swipe fees that banks charge to process credit card transactions will drive up the price of school and college supplies by a record $3.4 billion this year and cost the average family as much as $34, the Merchants Payments Coalition announced.
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Scranton Times-Tribune: Rising swipe fees impacting back-to-school prices
The Merchants Payments Coalition estimates swipe fees for K-12 school supplies will account for about $20 of the per-family cost and $1.02 billion of the total while the fees will equate to $34 on average and $2.4 billion overall for back-to-college spending.
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Forbes: Why The Credit Card Industry Is Spending $200 Million To Oppose This Legislation—While Big Box Retailers Support It
Right now, banks and merchants have to use whatever networks are tied to the card—which means they have pretty free rein to set whatever swipe fee rate they want. Those rates are typically between two and three percent, and the Merchants Payments Coalition, which advocates for the CCCA, reports the average rate has gone up from 2.02% in 2010 to 2.36% in 2026. Since the fees are a percentage of the transaction’s overall cost, that also means the fees get higher as inflation rises and prices of goods go up.
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Harrisburg Patriot-News: Swipe fees driving up school supply costs: ‘Undermines affordability’
A new report from advocacy group The Merchants Payment Coalition (MPC) has thrown this issue into high relief by claiming how swipe fees are expected to drive up the price of school and college supplies by about $3.4 billion this year. According to the report, swipe fees are, on average, about 2.36 percent of a transaction (although they can be as much as four percent). This makes them a retailers’ highest operating cost after labor and, like labor, swipe fees “have to be built into pricing.” “Swipe fees account for $2 of the $85 price of a typical school-recommended list of pencils, crayons, paper and similar supplies for a first-grader,” the report reads. “In high school, the fees can total $3.30 on a $140 graphing calculator required for an algebra class and $3.19 for a basic supply list. They amount to $15.34 on a $650 laptop.”
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KVVU-TV: Back-to-school tech spending shifts as schools provide more devices, researchers say
The Merchants Payments Coalition says credit card swipe fees — charges banks place on merchants each time a customer uses a credit card — will add a record $3.4 billion to the cost of school and college supplies this year. That amounts to up to $34 per family. The fees average about 2.36% of every purchase— but range as high as 4%. Because merchants build the charges into prices, all shoppers pay them regardless of whether they use a credit card. The coalition is urging Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act, saying the legislation would reduce those fees and lower school supply costs for families.
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MPC Hill Blast: ‘Banks Have Never Had It This Good’
For close observers, that headline from the American Banker is not a surprise. Anyone watching knows that banks being part of the two credit card groups structured as cartels by Visa and Mastercard is great for their bottom lines. Not only that, but they win with inflation because they charge a percentage-based fee for every credit card transaction.
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WRNJ Radio: Credit card swipe fees could add $3.4 billion to back-to-school shopping costs, coalition says
Credit card processing fees are expected to add a record $3.4 billion to back-to-school and back-to-college shopping costs this year, increasing expenses for families as they purchase school supplies, clothing and electronics, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. The coalition estimates that so-called “swipe” fees charged to merchants by banks and credit card companies will cost the average family about $20 for K-12 purchases and $34 for college-related purchases. Those costs are typically built into retail prices, the coalition said.
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Mass Market Retailers: Swipe fees seen as adding $3.4 billion to parents' back-to-school costs this year
"With swipe fees rising year after year, this hidden tax undermines affordability and drains money from families that need it," said Doug Kantor, an MPC Executive Committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. "A family could buy superhero lunchboxes for two kids or a backpack for their college sophomore with the money credit card companies are swiping from them. Congress should protect families trying to deal with the high cost of putting their children through school by passing the Credit Card Competition Act."
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Credit Card ‘Swipe’ Fees Drain $3.4 Billion from Families’ Back-to-School Spending This Year
“Swipe” fees banks charge merchants to process credit card transactions will drive up the price of school and college supplies by a record $3.4 billion this year and cost the average family as much as $34, MPC said.
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CardRates.com: Merchants Seek Lower Interchange Fees
Recent bank earnings gave the Merchants Payments Coalition more ammunition in its campaign to lower interchange fees. The merchant advocacy group issued a press release citing second-quarter earnings from some of the leading banks in the U.S. It argued that the results show issuers can afford to reduce interchange fees. Doug Kantor, National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel and Executive Committee Member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, said in the release that megabank profits are driven largely by “swipe fees.” He added that the fees cause prices to rise at a time when affordability is a concern for many Americans.
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