MPC Hill Blast: The ABCs of Big Bank Logic Are … Anything But Competition
Once again, big banks have shown they will go to any length to avoid competition. It’s not enough that they want to keep cartel-style price-fixing on credit card swipe fees without any competition. Now they want to prohibit consumers from getting any kind of rewards or interest from alternatives like stablecoins — just to avoid competition.
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RV Travel: Is it right we have to pay a banker every time we visit a popular national park?
The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) cited findings from payment consultants CMSPI that showed in 2023 that the swipe fee rate for Visa and Mastercard credit cards averaged 2.91% of the transaction amount (we at RVtravel.com pay a little more than that).
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CNBC: How stablecoins could change the way Americans shop in stores
“There’s tremendous potential in stablecoins. It should disrupt, to some extent, the traditional payment space we have today with credit and debit cards,” said Doug Kantor, general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member). “It has the promise of faster, cheaper, more efficient and frankly, more convenient transactions for consumers and businesses.”
READ MORE +MPC Hill Blast -- ‘It Kind of Boggles My Mind’
‘It kind of boggles my mind.’ That was the reaction of someone who knows what he is talking about — Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong — to huge swipe fees that cannot be justified in this interview with Fox Business.
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Congressional Hearings Examining Credit Card Swipe Fees
Congress has held 18 hearings examining credit card swipe fees since 2006.
READ MORE +MPC Hill Blast: $795 for Me … And No Soup for You!
American consumers can be excused for feeling like George in a classic Seinfeld clip. They keep getting squeezed by higher fees that seemingly come out of nowhere — like the $795 annual fee JP Morgan Chase is now charging cardholders. And that is just part of a parade of higher annual fees and interest rates from credit card companies.
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C-Store Decisions: Halloween Swipe Fees Projected to Cost Over $300 Million
As Halloween season approaches, retailers are stocking up on the supplies customers might look for. “Swipe” fees, however, will drive up the price of Halloween items by more than $300 million this year, the Merchants Payments Coalition said. “While kids are hoping for treats, Visa and Mastercard are playing their usual tricks on American parents,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Retail Federation Senior Director of Government Relations Dylan Jeon said. “The megabanks and global card networks drive up prices for virtually everything we buy for Halloween. It’s time to make the monopolists play by the rules by passing the Credit Card Competition Act. The card industry needs to compete over swipe fees like small businesses compete every day or the whole year will continue to be a nightmare on every street.”
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Gifts and Decorative Accessories: $300 Million of Consumers’ Halloween Dollars are Going Here and It’s Not on Decor
“Swipe” fees banks charge merchants to process credit card transactions will drive up the price of Halloween items by more than $300 million this year, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. “While kids are hoping for treats, Visa and Mastercard are playing their usual tricks on American parents,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Retail Federation Senior Director of Government Relations Dylan Jeon said. “The megabanks and global card networks drive up prices for virtually everything we buy for Halloween. It’s time to make the monopolists play by the rules by passing the Credit Card Competition Act. The card industry needs to compete over swipe fees like small businesses compete every day or the whole year will continue to be a nightmare on every street.”
READ MORE +MPC Hill Blast: The Biggest Bipartisan Inflation Reduction Bill
What is the bipartisan policy before Congress with the greatest inflation reduction potential? The Credit Card Competition Act.
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Credit Card ‘Swipe’ Fees Account for Over $300 Million of Halloween Costs This Year
“Swipe” fees banks charge merchants to process credit card transactions will drive up the price of Halloween items by more than $300 million this year, MPC said.
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