FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: J. Craig Shearman
(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com
Fees Can Cost as Much as Lunchboxes for the Whole Family or a Backpack
WASHINGTON, July 20, 2026 – “Swipe” fees banks charge merchants to process credit card transactions will drive up the price of school and college supplies by a record $3.4 billion this year and cost the average family as much as $34, the Merchants Payments Coalition said today.
“With swipe fees rising year after year, this hidden tax undermines affordability and drains money from families that need it,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said. “A family could buy superhero lunchboxes for two kids or a backpack for their college sophomore with the money credit card companies are swiping from them. Congress should protect families trying to deal with the high cost of putting their children through school by passing the Credit Card Competition Act.”
Averaging 2.36% of the transaction but ranging as high as 4%, swipe fees are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor and have to be built into pricing. With few consumers using cash and credit card rules making discounts difficult, all shoppers pay more because of swipe fees regardless of how they pay.
Families are expected to spend an average $864 on K-12 school supplies, clothing and related items for a total of $43.3 billion this year, according to the National Retail Federation. While a precise amount is difficult to calculate, MPC estimates that swipe fees account for $20 of the per-family cost and $1.02 billion of the total.
Back-to-college spending is expected to average $1,438 for a total of $103.5 billion, resulting in swipe fees of $34 on average and $2.4 billion overall. Together, back-to-school and back-to-college swipe fees could total $3.4 billion.
K-12 families are expected to spend an average $146 on school supplies like pencils and notebooks, including an estimated $3.46 in swipe fees; $293 on electronics like calculators, or $6.92 in swipe fees, and $424 on clothing and shoes, including $10.01 in swipe fees. For college, spending should average $194 for dorm furnishings ($4.58 in swipe fees), $182 for clothing ($4.30) and $342 for electronics ($8.07).
The $20 in swipe fees for a K-12 family would buy a pair of superhero lunchboxes while the $34 college average would buy a backpack with money left over.
Swipe fees account for $2 of the $85 price of a typical school-recommended list of pencils, crayons, paper and similar supplies for a first-grader. In high school, the fees can total $3.30 on a $140 graphing calculator required for an algebra class and $3.19 for a basic $135 supply list. They amount to $15.34 on a $650 laptop.
Swipe fees for Visa and Mastercard credit cards alone have more than quadrupled since 2010 to $118.8 billion last year, and total credit and debit card swipe fees hit a record $198.25 billion, driving up prices by more than $1,200 a year for the average family. The fees are rising largely because of lack of competition — Visa and Mastercard, which control 80% of the market, each centrally set the swipe fee rates charged by all banks that issue cards under their brands and restrict processing to their own networks.
The impact on school spending comes as Congress is considering the Credit Card Competition Act to address swipe fees, which President Donald Trump has said is needed to “stop the out of control Swipe Fee ripoff.”
Under the bill, banks with at least $100 billion in assets would enable credit cards to be processed over at least one unaffiliated network like Star, NYCE or Shazam in addition to Visa or Mastercard. The measure is expected to result in competition over fees, security and service that would save merchants and their customers $17 billion a year.
About MPC
The Merchants Payments Coalition represents retailers, supermarkets, convenience stores, gasoline stations, online merchants, hotels 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.