Bloomberg: Retailers Seen Using Stablecoins to Push Back Against Card Fees
“The reason why the fees are so high is that Visa and Mastercard each organize banks all around the country into the dictionary definition of a pricing cartel, and they tell them how much to charge merchants,” said Doug Kantor, general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member). “The result is all of these banks that are supposed to be competitors, don’t compete on the price to merchants of accepting a card.”
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Daily Mail: Walmart and Amazon plot astonishing move that would upend the whole banking system
'More choice and more innovation is a good thing,' Doug Kantor, member of the Merchants Payments Coalition's executive committee, told the Daily Mail. 'There has been no innovation in 40 years.' For Kantor, stablecoins are a positive step as they mean more competition for Visa and Mastercard, and they could make payments more efficient and more convenient for merchants and customers. However he notes that there are many things that need to happen before stablecoin payments could become a reality in stores across the US. Not only is regulation needed for consumers so they can see it is a safe payment method, but Visa or Mastercard could potentially take control of or kill any stablecoin venture in order to maintain their dominance, he said. 'They have an incentive to stop innovation,' Kantor explained.
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Wall Street Journal: Walmart and Amazon Are Exploring Issuing Their Own Stablecoins
Merchant trade groups have been meeting with lawmakers in recent months to push for passage of the Genius Act. The trade groups, led by the Merchants Payments Coalition, have said that a regulatory framework for stablecoin would enable an alternative payment type for merchants that could significantly lower their expenses and create competition against Visa and Mastercard.
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The Independent: Walmart and Amazon looking at creating their own cryptocoins as digital currencies popularity rises
One trade group has been lobbying members of Congress to push for the legislation’s passage. The regulatory framework for stablecoin, the Merchants Payments Coalition said in talks, would allow merchants to utilize alternative payment methods that could significantly lower expenses.
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New York Post: Walmart, Amazon mull creating their own stablecoins
Trade groups like the Merchants Payments Coalition have stepped up lobbying efforts to get the Genius Act passed. They argue that a regulated stablecoin would introduce long-needed competition in a market dominated by Visa and Mastercard, leading to lower costs for businesses and consumers alike.
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Watcher.Guru: Amazon & Walmart Explore Launching Their Own Stablecoins
The Merchants Payments Coalition argues that proper stablecoin regulation would enable alternative payments that significantly lower expenses and also create competition against card networks.
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Crypto Potato: Amazon, Walmart Exploring Plans to Launch Stablecoins
The Merchants Payments Coalition believes that clear rules for stablecoins would enable lower-cost payment options and introduce more competition to Visa and Mastercard.
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Crypto Briefing: Amazon, Walmart, and Expedia consider issuing stablecoins to sidestep costly card fees:
Merchant trade groups, led by the Merchants Payments Coalition, have been advocating for the GENIUS Act’s passage, arguing that a stablecoin regulatory framework would create competition against Visa and Mastercard while lowering expenses.
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NACS Daily: NACS Continues to Fight for Credit Card Competition Act
As the fight against swipe fees continues, NACS and the Merchants Payments Coalition continue to push for passage of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) following a significant boost in momentum gained during Senate consideration of the GENIUS Act stablecoin bill.
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Digital Transactions: The CCCA Goes Into Limbo As a ‘Clean’ GENIUS Bill Advances
“Support for the amendment has clearly grown to a point where the payments industry was looking to duck a vote on this one,” says Doug Kantor, a Merchants Payment Coalition executive committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores. Kantor cited recent endorsements of the legislation from the Teamsters Union, as well as from labor unions in the retail and food-service sectors, as signs of growing public support for the Durbin Marshall amendment. Kantor adds this support for the legislation is proof that the time for “credit card swipe-fee reform has come.” Swipe fees drive up prices by nearly $1,200 a year for the average family, according to MPC estimates. In addition, the MPC cites figures from payment consultancy CMSPI indicating that, had the CCCA passed, merchants could have seen more than $17 billion in interchange relief in 2024, up from $16.4 billion in 2023.
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