FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: J. Craig Shearman
(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com
WASHINGTON, March 30, 2026 — Credit card fees that President Donald Trump calls a “swipe fee ripoff” will cost families nearly as much a dozen eggs and the dye needed to turn them into Easter eggs this year as their total impact on the holiday approaches $600 million, the Merchants Payments Coalition said today.
“Swipe fees drive up the cost of nearly everything we buy, and Easter is no exception,” National Retail Federation Senior Director of Government Relations Dylan Jeon said. “Even the Easter Bunny gets ripped off by swipe fees. Whether they’re buying Easter eggs, chocolate bunnies or Peeps, these out-of-control big-bank fees cost families more every year, growing twice as much as inflation and outpacing the growth in credit card volume. With President Trump and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle calling for action, it’s time to put families ahead of Wall Street.”
The National Retail Federation’s annual survey estimates that consumers will spend an average $195.59 on Easter-related items this year for a total of $24.9 billion. Based on the 2.36% average swipe fee rate charged to merchants for Visa and Mastercard credit cards, that would include $4.62 per shopper in swipe fees and would total $587.6 million if all purchases were made with credit cards.
The amount per shopper is nearly double the $2.50 average price of a dozen eggs as of February and far exceeds the $2.99 cost of an egg decorating kit to turn them into Easter eggs or a $3 plastic Easter basket to put them into. It’s more than three times the $1.52 cost of an eight-count pack of Peeps, and takes a big bite out of a $5.29 chocolate Easter bunny. Swipe fees can be as much as 4%, so the actual impact could be even higher.
Swipe fees would account for $177 million of the $7.5 billion NRF says consumers are expected to spend on food, $92 million of $3.9 billion spent on gifts, $87.3 million of $3.7 billion spent on clothing, $82.6 million of $3.5 billion spent on candy and $51.9 million of $2.2 billion spent on flowers.
Credit and debit card swipe fees have risen 80% since the pandemic and soared to a record $198.25 billion in 2025, a year-over-year increase of 5.9% that outstripped the 5% growth in card purchase volume and was more than double 2025’s average inflation of 2.7%. Swipe fees for Visa and Mastercard credit cards alone accounted for $118.8 billion of the total and have more than quadrupled since MPC began tracking them in 2009. Swipe fees are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor and too much to absorb, driving up prices by more than $1,200 a year for the average family.
The impact on Easter comes as Congress is considering the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act, which President Donald Trump endorsed in January to “stop the out of control Swipe Fee ripoff.”
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 bill, require 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, Shazam or Discover. 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.
