Mass Market Retailers: Merchants demand swipe fee reform as banks rake in record profits
Three of the nation’s largest banks reported huge profits again today as merchants continue to press Congress to address rapidly rising “swipe” fees banks charge them to process transactions, the Merchants Payments Coalition said. “Banks are bragging about higher profits and the easy treatment they expect from regulators while Main Street struggles,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said. “Credit card swipe fees are the result of price-fixing and the credit card industry is looking for ways to make sure they block any new technology that might help. It’s time for Congress to bring relief to Main Street merchants and their customers.”
READ MORE +
Continuing High Profits at Large Banks Show Need to Address Rising ‘Swipe’ Fees
Three of the nation’s largest banks reported huge profits again as merchants continue to press Congress to address rapidly rising “swipe” fees banks charge them to process transactions, MPC said.
READ MORE +
MPC Hill Blast: Reverse Robin Hood
A new report has revealed, once again, that the credit card industry’s fees hurt those least able to afford them.
READ MORE +
Inkl: The Quiet Rise of Stablecoin: Are You Ready to Shop and Bank Differently?
Last year, retailers and e-commerce companies paid a record $187.2 billion in swipe fees for credit and debit cards. That is according to a Merchants Payment Coalition report. “With no competition to hold them in check, price-fixed swipe fees rise every year and shot up again last year,” said MPC Executive Committee member Christine Pollack. She is also vice president of government relations at FMI – The Food Industry Association.
READ MORE +
Digital Transactions: Stablecoins’ Steady Rise
“Our view is we should have more innovation in payments,” says Doug Kantor, general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores and an executive committee member of the Merchants Payments Coalition. But Kantor sees a dark side, as well. “Visa and Mastercard are also engaged in looking at stablecoins,” he notes. “If it’s just a replication of their dominance [in payments], that’s not helpful.”
READ MORE +
Digital Transactions: The States’ Battle to Regulate Interchange
“The rise in swipe fees since 2020 has been astronomical, and those are out-the-door dollars for merchants,” says Doug Kantor, a Merchants Payment Coalition executive committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. “There is a measure of desperation among merchants over how high and fast fees are rising,” Kantor says. The average card swipe fee is 2.35% for Mastercard and Visa-branded credit cards, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.
READ MORE +
Fox News: Bartenders spill the beans on Gen Z's 'annoying' drink-by-drink payment habit
Card payments can not only slow down bartenders on a busy night, they can also be costly to a bar owner's bottom line. Credit card fees, which range from, on average, 2% to 4% of the transaction, are assessed with every swipe, according to Doug Kantor with the Merchants Payments Coalition.
READ MORE +MPC Hill Blast: Credit Card Companies Charge Everyone More
Credit card swipe fees keep growing out of control. They hit a record $187 billion in 2024. The credit card industry tries every contortion it can to find a way this helps consumers, but they strike out every time. The latest swing and miss was highlighted by the Wall Street Journal.
READ MORE +MPC Hill Blast: Even Banks Know Competition is Better – Except When it Comes to Credit Cards
This article on payments demonstrates the depths of hypocrisy of the credit card industry in its attempts to push giant swipe fees ever higher.
READ MORE +
PYMNTS: Credit Card Competition Act Not Part of GENIUS Bill, But Swipe Fee Debate Endures
The CCCA has been endorsed by the Merchant Payment Coalition (MPC), the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) and other retail groups. The NACS and the MPC said in a statement that the fees paid by merchants to the payment networks were $187.2 billion last year, and represented merchants’ highest operating cost, after wages paid to employees. They also said in that statement that they would continue advocating for the CCCA’s passage.
READ MORE +