FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: J. Craig Shearman
(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2026 — Financial institutions will be allowed to price-fix a wide range of fees charged to consumers and small businesses under a pair of rules issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the National Credit Union Administration that took effect this week, the Merchants Payments Coalition said today.
“These rules are a colossal mistake that could send bank and credit union fees soaring for consumers and businesses,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said. “The OCC and NCUA are setting a dangerous precedent that endorses unfair price collusion. Collusion on credit card swipe fees has gone on for far too long and these rules not only endorse but expand it to fees charged directly to consumers. Regulators should be protecting consumers and businesses by stopping anti-competitive behavior rather than encouraging it.”
An OCC rule contending that the National Bank Act preempts an Illinois ban on credit card swipe fees on sales tax and tips and similar measures under consideration in other states from applying to federally chartered banks took effect on Tuesday. A similar NCUA rule saying the Federal Credit Union Act does the same for federally chartered credit unions took effect the same day.
The OCC rule reverses longstanding agency regulations that said 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.” The NCUA rule includes similar language.
Doing so endorses the longstanding practice of card-issuing banks charging swipe fee rates centrally price-fixed by Visa and Mastercard, which merchants have challenged as a violation of antitrust law and common-sense policy. MPC warned in comments filed with the OCC in May that the move could apply to charges such as late fees, overdraft or over-limit fees, annual card fees and ATM fees, among others.
The OCC rule was issued in April in an attempt to block the Illinois law, which was set to take effect today.
The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act was challenged by banks shortly after it was passed in 2024, but was upheld this February by a federal judge who rejected their claim that it is preempted by federal banking law. U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall said the measure is not preempted because swipe fees are set by Visa and Mastercard, which are not banks and therefore not subject to the National Bank Act. Banks appealed the ruling to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which sent the case back to Kendall after the OCC issued its rule.
Kendall handed down a new order on June 1 blocking the Illinois law, citing the OCC rule. MPC said the ruling was a technicality because the OCC measure had not yet been challenged in court. MPC said earlier that the rule is “unlikely to stand up to scrutiny in court,” citing previous court rulings against the agency’s preemption claims.
In the meantime, the NCUA issued its rule after federal credit unions complained that they would be required to comply with the Illinois law while national banks would be exempt. The law would still have applied to state-chartered banks and credit unions, but the Illinois legislature voted to delay implementation until July 1, 2027. Once the measure takes effect, it will ban credit card and debit card swipe fees from applying to the sales tax and tip portions of transactions, saving Illinois business and their customers over $500 billion a year.
The developments come as Congress is considering the Credit Card Competition Act to address swipe fees overall rather than just those on sales tax and tips. President Donald Trump endorsed the CCCA in January, saying it is needed “to stop the out of control Swipe Fee ripoff.”
Overall 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. The credit card industry also charges consumers more than $190 billion in interest, late fees, annual fees, non-sufficient fund fees and more.
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.
