Sinclair Broadcasting: Credit Card Competition Act -- A Push for Lower Swipe Fees, Potential Savings for Consumers
“The bottom line is that the only pressure and incentive on that swipe fee is to raise it because banks are going to decide whether they want ... to issue a Visa credit card or a Mastercard credit card based on who's going to let them charge the highest fee and bring them the highest volume,” said Stephanie Martz, general counsel for the National Retail Federation and an executive committee member for the Merchant Payment Coalition.
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Entrepreneur: Sorry, Points Lovers -- Buying With a Credit Card Can Be Costly for Small Businesses
According to the Merchants Payments Coalition, an organization aimed at payment reform in the U.S., retailers across the county now bear an annual burden of roughly $160 billion in "swipe fees" — charges imposed on merchants for processing card payments. Doug Kantor, a member of the coalition's executive committee, told NPR that the figure has surged by more than 50% since 2020. "It is unfortunately a very unjust system and one that's hidden from most of us so that we really don't even know what's happening," Kantor told the outlet.
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NACS Daily: Senate Appropriations Package on Hold
Fifty convenience retailers and state association executives traveled to Washington, DC on September 20 to make the pitch for the legislation to Senators in person, as part of a fly-in coordinated by NACS and the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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NPR: A New Bill Would Reduce the Fees Shop Owners are Charged When Customers Swipe a Card
M{PC Executive Committee member and NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor: "In general, these fees are really just baked into the cost of everything we buy. Even consumers who are cash payers pay more for every good that they buy than they really should."
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Gifts and Decorative Accessories: 3 Senators, Business Owners Urge Passage of Credit Card Competition Act
“Thank you to Senators Durbin, Marshall, Welch and Vance for their tireless advocacy on behalf of Main Street businesses. We need Congress to follow the lead of these champions of Main Street. With Visa and Mastercard hiking fees and creating new ones just next month, it’s time to pass the Credit Card Competition Act,” said Doug Kantor, Merchants Payments Coalition Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel.
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MPC, Durbin, Marshall and Welch Call for Passage of Credit Card Competition Act
“Thank you to Senators Durbin, Marshall, Welch and Vance for their tireless advocacy on behalf of Main Street businesses," MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said. "We need Congress to follow the lead of these champions of Main Street. With Visa and Mastercard hiking fees and creating new ones just next month, it’s time to pass the Credit Card Competition Act.”
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Convenience Store News: Consumers Echo Support for Credit Card Swipe Fee Reform
Retailers aren't the only ones concerned with high swipe fees. Nearly two-thirds of likely voters support credit card swipe fee reform, according to a new survey released today by the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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Credit Unions Today: Survey Shows Two-Thirds of Voters Want 'Swipe Fee Reform,' Says Merchants Group
Nearly two-thirds of likely voters support credit card swipe fee reform, according to a new survey released by the Merchants Payments Coalition, which is advocating for passage of the Credit Card Competition Act in Congress.
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Politico Influence: Swipe Fee Fight Heats Up
Also Monday, the Merchants Payments Coalition, an ally of the retail industry working to take down card giants Visa and Mastercard, held a news conference with small business and antitrust advocacy groups to trumpet its own findings, unveiling survey data showing that two-thirds of likely voters favor swipe fee changes.
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Gifts and Decorative Accessories: New Voter Data, Ad Campaigns Add Pressure on Congress to Act on Credit Card Swipe Fee Reform
In MPC’s new survey about the Credit Card Competition Act and credit card swipe fee issues, the group found that 65 percent of likely voters support credit card swipe fee reform. “These numbers show that bringing competition to out-of-control swipe fees is a priority for consumers, not just merchants,” said Doug Kantor, MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores general counsel. “Consumers are increasingly aware that swipe fees drive up the prices of everything they buy and are going nowhere but up. They want Congress to stand up against global credit card networks and Wall Street banks and put American families first.”
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