FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: J. Craig Shearman
(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com
WASHINGTON, May 29, 2026 — The Merchants Payments Coalition today urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to withdraw a pending rule intended to block state laws on credit card swipe fees, saying the measure endorses price-fixing that could drive up a wide range of fees banks charge both merchants and consumers.
“The OCC’s interim final rule and order directly contradict President Trump’s call to end the ‘swipe fee ripoff’ by preserving and endorsing a system in which card networks centrally set interchange fees that banks uniformly charge merchants,” MPC said in comments filed with the agency. “Rather than promoting competition or lowering costs for consumers, the rule reinforces a pricing structure that drives up the cost of accepting card payments and ultimately raises prices across the economy.”
The OCC rule is aimed at an Illinois ban on swipe fees on sales tax and tips that is expected to save merchants and their customers over $500 million a year when it takes effect July 1. It also targets similar measures being considered in other states, including one waiting for the signature of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis that would save merchants and consumers over $200 million a year.
The rule reverses longstanding OCC regulations that say fees charged by banks must be “arrived at by each bank on a competitive basis” and instead says banks can charge fees that are “set by or in consultation with third parties.”
In doing so, MPC said in today’s comments, the rule endorses price-fixing — including Visa and Mastercard’s current practice of centrally setting swipe fee rates charged by all banks that issue cards, and “the implications of the rule extend far beyond interchange fees.”
“The revised language could apply broadly to numerous categories of consumer financial charges, including late fees, overdraft or over-limit fees, annual card fees, ATM fees and similar charges,” MPC said. “By eliminating the expectation of independent competitive pricing, the rule risks encouraging industry-wide fee standardization at the expense of consumers and merchants alike.”
Banks sued to block the Illinois law shortly after it was passed in 2024, arguing that it was preempted by federal banking law. But U.S. District Court Judge Virginia Kendall ruled this February that the law isn’t preempted. The judge found that swipe fee rates are set by Visa and Mastercard rather than banks themselves. The two card networks are not banks and the judge said they are therefore not subject to the National Bank Act.
Banks appealed that ruling to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the OCC, which had already filed an unsuccessful brief in banks’ favor with Kendall, filed another brief with the 7th Circuit in March.
Rather than waiting for the appellate court to rule, however, the OCC issued a rule and related order in April repeating its position. The rule is set to take effect June 30, and the 7th Circuit has sent the case back to Judge Kendall to determine whether the rule is valid.
MPC said the rule is ‘unlikely to stand up to scrutiny in court” and that issuing it in April rather than waiting for the 7th Circuit to rule in the litigation was “an apparent attempt to circumvent judicial review.”
The OCC rule is a sharp contradiction to statements by President Donald Trump, who said in January that Congress needs to “stop the out of control Swipe Fee ripoff” and endorsed the Credit Card Competition Act to do so.
Credit and debit card swipe fees have increased 80% since the pandemic, reaching a record $198.25 billion last year. They are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor and are too much to absorb, driving up prices by more than $1,200 a year for the average family.
Visa and Mastercard — which control 80% of the market — each centrally set the swipe fees charged by banks that issue cards under their brands, and also block transactions from being processed over other networks that could do the job with lower fees and better security. Under the CCCA, banks with at least $100 billion in assets would enable cards they issue to be processed over at least two unaffiliated networks — Visa or Mastercard plus a competitor like NYCE, Star or Shazam. The measure is expected to result in competition over fees, security and service that would save merchants and consumers $17 billion a year.
About MPC
The Merchants Payments Coalition represents retailers, supermarkets, convenience stores, gasoline stations, online merchants and others fighting for a more competitive and transparent card system that is fair to consumers and merchants. Follow MPC on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn for the latest on swipe fees.