Mass Market Retailers: Delay of Illinois swipe fee law will cost consumers and businesses $500 million
“Big banks’ scare tactics are costing hard working people in Illinois real money,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said. “$500 million may seem like pennies to credit card giants like Visa and Mastercard, but when people lose more of their money to credit card swipe fees they won’t be happy. It is mind-boggling with people concerned about affordability that credit card companies can continue to drag their feet on complying with the law – and make the people of Illinois pay the price.”
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Swipe Fee Law Delay Will Cost Illinois Consumers and Businesses $500 Million
MPC blamed bank “scare tactics” for Illinois delaying its ban on swipe fees on sales tax and tips and said the delay is estimated to elevate costs in Illinois by $500 million over the next year above what they would have been.
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Capitol Account: Banks Notch Wins in Illinois Swipe Fee Fight, as OCC Draws New Criticism
The Merchants Payments Coalition, which represents retailers, made a similar case, pointing out that the OCC’s regulation is supposed to ensure that bank fees are subject to market competition. The rule would allow a way around that, the association argued, by letting banks rely on other companies. “This is a fundamental reversal of the OCC’s longstanding recognition,” the coalition contended. “By eliminating the expectation of independent competitive pricing, the rule risks encouraging industry-wide fee standardization at the expense of consumers and merchants.”
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Digital Transactions: The Illinois IFPA Implementation Date Is Extended Again
Meanwhile, the Merchant Payments Coalition, which has advocated for the measure, says the delay was unfortunate. “The law ought to go into effect at this point,” Doug Kantor, an executive committee member of the MPC, tells Digital Transactions News. “Understand that the banks are throwing around misinformation that people get nervous about,” Kantor says. “The only issue in Illinois is the credit card industry is dragging its feet and tried to throw obstacles at it. We look forward to the law eventually going into effect.”
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Payments Dive: Illinois lawmakers again delay card fee law
The Merchant Payments Coalition urged the federal agency to drop its rule. “The OCC’s interim final rule and order directly contradict President Trump’s call to end the “swipe fee rip-off” by preserving and endorsing a system in which card networks set the card fees that banks charge merchants,” the group said in its Friday letter.
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Merchants Call on OCC to Drop Swipe Fee Rule, Saying Price-Fixing Impact Could Go ‘Far Beyond’ Credit Cards
MPC urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to withdraw a pending rule intended to block state laws on credit card swipe fees, saying the measure endorses price-fixing that could drive up a wide range of fees banks charge both merchants and consumers.
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Westlaw Today: Merchants ask OCC to reverse swipe fee preemption
The Merchants Payments Coalition urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday to withdraw its recent move to nullify state-level swipe fee bans.
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News Anyway: The Credit Card Swipe Fee War , Main Street Retailers Take on Visa and Mastercard
The Merchants Payments Coalition has persisted in advocating for legislative action, especially with regard to routing changes akin to those implemented for debit card transactions following the 2010 Dodd-Frank reforms.
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WCPT-AM/Heartland Signal: Big banks and Illinois retailers clash over landmark credit card swipe fee law
The Merchants Payments Coalition, a group of retailers and businesses that supports the IFPA, released a report in March saying swipe fees reached a record-high $198.25 billion in 2025. “Credit card swipe fees make just about everything Americans buy more expensive,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said. “Swipe fees set a new record by taking more of our money every year and the impact on American families and small businesses is devastating. President Trump, lawmakers across the political spectrum, business groups, labor unions, consumer groups, Native American tribes and more are calling for bipartisan swipe fee reform. It’s time for Congress to make America affordable again by ending the swipe fee ripoff.”
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Convenience Store News: Retailer Group Opposes Increase in Debit Card Swipe Fees
The Merchants Payments Coalition and member trade associations urged the Senate Banking Committee to reject a proposal that would allow dozens of large banks to increase the fees they charge merchants to process debit card transactions, saying the move would lead to higher prices for consumers.
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