MPC Hill Blast: ICYMI: NY Times Podcast Says Swipe Fees Are ‘Just Killing’ Restaurants
On a recent episode of The New York Times podcast “The Daily,” Times food writer Brett Anderson told host Michael Barbaro what he keeps hearing from restaurant owners: "these 2% to 4% swipe fees are just killing them."
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StartBusinessByState: Credit Card Swipe Fees on Sales Tax by State (2026): Costs and Bills to Stop Them
Swipe fees hit a record $198.25 billion in 2025, up 5.9% from 2024, according to the Nilson Report as cited by the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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Washington Times: Every credit card swipe adds a hidden fee to your bill. Congress wants to change that
The Merchants Payments Coalition, a trade association of retail groups, notes that swipe fee revenues soared from $62.1 billion in 2010 to a record $198.25 billion last year, as more Americans shopped online and used credit for most purchases. “Affordability is big on everyone’s agenda this year, and there’s nothing Congress could do to lower prices faster than this legislation,” said Doug Kantor, a coalition committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores.
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Progressive Grocer: If Marshall loses his Senate race, the legislation will lose both of its prime cosponsors, although the bill's proponents say the legislation will live on. Doug Kantor, National Association of Convenience Stores general counsel and mem
“The underlying problem hasn't disappeared simply because NCUA issued a rule saying otherwise,” said Doug Kantor, an MPC Executive Committee member and general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores. “Visa and Mastercard still set these fees.”
READ MORE +MPC Hill Blast: ICYMI: ‘Airline Cards Are Messing Up the Whole Industry’ — NY Times
This piece in the New York Times lays out some of the problem web of ties and monopolistic practices between the credit card and airline industries. It makes clear that the few dominant airlines use credit card loyalty programs “as a weapon against carriers like Spirit” — blocking competition that could give customers better prices and service. And it shows that credit cards “marry the biggest banks to the biggest airlines.”
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American Banker: How credit cards are playing into the Kansas Senate race
If Marshall loses his Senate race, the legislation will lose both of its prime cosponsors, although the bill's proponents say the legislation will live on. Doug Kantor, National Association of Convenience Stores general counsel and member at the Merchants Payments Coalition, said that there's enough momentum for the bill that it'll pick up new lawmaker advocates. And if Democrats retake the Senate and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., takes the gavel at the Senate Banking Committee, the CCCA would be one of only a handful of legislative issues where she and Trump agree. "Credit card reforms are definitely within the circle where both of those individuals see the problems and agree there ought to be changes," Kantor said. "Republicans are much more willing to take on big companies, big interests, it's part of how things have shifted in the Trump era."
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Digital Transactions: A Judge’s Ruling Re-Ignites a Fierce Battle Over Interchange
The move to exempt federal credit unions drew a strong rebuke Wednesday from the Merchants Payments Coalition, a group that lobbies on behalf of retailers on payments matters. “The NCUA has clearly exceeded its authority, and we expect the court will be overruled in an appeal or subsequent case,” said Doug Kantor, an MPC executive committee member. “States can and should protect their local businesses and consumers from abusive, unfair practices by credit unions and banks.”
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Illinois Swipe Fee Ruling Compounds a Costly Mistake for Consumers
The Merchants Payments Coalition today expressed strong disapproval of a federal court decision shielding federal credit unions from an Illinois law protecting its people from credit card swipe fees on sales tax and tips.
READ MORE +MPC Hill Blast: Trump and Vance Endorse the Credit Card Competition Act Again … and Again
President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance know that the Credit Card Competition Act would bring long-overdue competition to the credit card marketplace and help stop the swipe fee ripoff. In fact, the President and Vice President have expressed public support for lowering swipe fees and the CCCA on FIVE separate occasions in recent months. In his most recent statement of support last week, President Trump expressed urgency: “… a bill we’re going to pass as soon as possible.” Let’s help the President make it happen.
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Merchants Welcome Trump Promising to Pass Credit Card Competition Act ‘As Soon As Possible’
MPC today welcomed President Donald Trump’s pledge to pass the Credit Card Competition Act “as soon as possible,” a move that marks the administration’s strongest support yet for the bipartisan legislation.
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