March 29, 2021
Credit card processing fees have more than doubled over the past decade despite technological improvements that have driven down processing costs. The rates charged to U.S. merchants are among the highest in the world, seven times the maximum allowed in Europe. In 2022, card processing fees totaled $160.7 billion, according to the Nilson Report. That was up 16.7 percent over the year before and up 142 percent over the previous decade. These fees are most retailers’ highest operating cost after labor and drive up prices paid by consumers by more than $1,000 a year for the average family.