NACS Daily: Senators Seek to Assess Impact of Swipe Fees on Wounded Veterans
“Wounded and disabled veterans and military heroes shouldn’t have to pay extra when they use a credit card at military commissaries,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Retail Federation Vice President for Government Relations, Banking and Financial Services Leon Buck said. “No one should have to pay these high, out-of-control fees, but certainly not our heroes.”
READ MORE +
Payments Dive: Fed Majority Votes to Finalize Debit Rule
“When Congress said merchants had the right to route debit transactions to the processor of their choice, they meant all transactions, not just those in stores,” National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said in a statement issued by the Merchants Payments Coalition. “The Fed has followed through on Congress’ intent and made it clear that big banks’ evasion of competition must stop. Visa, Mastercard and their bank members should not be allowed to shut out other networks.”
READ MORE +
Progressive Grocer: Retailers Applaud Fed's Clarification Regarding Competitive Routing on Debit Transactions
"This move will bring badly needed competition to our nation’s broken payments market,” said Doug Kantor, executive committee member of the Merchants Payment Coalition and National Association of Convenience Stores general counsel.
READ MORE +
NACS Daily: New Fed Rules to Ease Visa and Mastercard's Anticompetitive Control of Online Debit
“This move will bring badly needed competition to our nation’s broken payments market,” said NACS General Counsel and MPC Executive Committee member Doug Kantor. “When Congress said merchants had the right to route debit transactions to the processor of their choice, they meant all transactions, not just those in stores. The Fed has followed through on Congress’ intent and made it clear that big banks’ evasion of competition must stop. Visa, Mastercard and their bank members should not be allowed to shut out other networks that can do the job more efficiently and more securely.”
READ MORE +
Merchants Welcome Proposal to Assess Impact of Credit Card Swipe Fees on Wounded Military Veterans
MPC welcomed proposed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act that are intended to address soaring credit card “swipe” fees that drive up costs for many veterans when they buy groceries or other necessities at military commissaries.
READ MORE +
Merchants Say New Federal Reserve Rules Will Ease Visa and Mastercard's Anticompetitive Control of Online Debit
MPC welcomed the Federal Reserve’s long-awaited approval of new rules making it clear that merchants’ right to choose which payment networks process trillions of dollars in debit card transactions each year applies the same online as it does in stores and must be honored by banks and card companies.
READ MORE +
Modern Retail: How New Legislation is Trying to Target Credit Card Swipe Fees
Last year, swipe fees went up 25% and cost U.S. retailers a collective $137.8 billion, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition, a lobbying group that supports the act. More than 1,700 retailers, including many gas stations and grocers, signed onto a letter in September supporting the act, saying the credit card market “has been dominated by only two players for far too long.” Visa and MasterCard control at least 80% of the credit card market, according to the coalition, and set the swipe fees charged by the banks.
READ MORE +
Payments Dive: Durbin Maps Path for Card Bill
Interest groups representing retailers and merchants, including the Merchants Payments Coalition, are engaged in a fierce battle over the legislation with counterparts, including the Electronic Payments Coalition, representing the card companies and banks.
READ MORE +
Insider Intelligence: Companion Credit Card Bill Improves Odds of Swipe Fee Crackdown
The Merchants Payments Coalition lobbied for the bill earlier this year, saying it could help lower costs for both merchants and consumers already burdened by high inflation.
READ MORE +
CNN: Walmart and Target Push to Lower Credit Card Fees
“Swipe fees for credit cards are higher in the United States than anywhere else in the industrialized world — more than seven times as high as Europe,” (the Merchants Payments Coalition and hundreds of businesses) wrote in a letter to lawmakers last week. “They are an inflation multiplier.”
READ MORE +