Native American Businesses Support the Credit Card Competition Act
Native American businesses get unfairly charged huge credit card swipe fees – just like off-reservation businesses. Here are some of their voices:
- We survived through COVID, supply-chain issues and, more recently, exorbitant inflation. But, through it all, credit card swipe fees have tagged along, allowing massive corporations like Visa and Mastercard to keep taking a cut of my revenue while we do everything we can to keep our doors open and serve our customers. Given so many tribal members are on tight budgets, we walk a very fine line between covering our costs and remaining affordable.” – Writes Joe Donnell, former South Dakota state representative, member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe and Founder and Director of Warriors Circle
- “As inflation continues to run rampant, no other racial or ethnic group has felt the financial sting more than Native Americans. . . In Arizona, credit card swipe fees cost merchants — including those on our reservation — nearly $1.9 billion every year. For many businesses, swipe fees are a greater expense than healthcare or utilities, ranking second only behind labor as a top operating expense. Native-owned businesses are also much more likely to report difficulty covering operating expenses or attaining credit, which means this revenue sent to Wall Street makes it much harder for Native American merchants to reinvest in their business and keep prices down for consumers.” – Writes Kevin Cassadore, former General Manager of the San Carlos Apache Tribe
- “Our tribal businesses serve tribal members and others through our convenience stores and other businesses. These businesses are consistently and increasingly disadvantaged, however, by sky-high credit card fees. …The dominance of two companies setting the credit card swipe fee rates that the largest financial institutions in the United States all charge our businesses is so overwhelming that even we, as sovereign nations, are powerless to negotiate with them or comparison shop for betters deals as we do for all other suppliers to our businesses. This situation undermines our tribal sovereignty and we have no market options to address it.” – Writes Eric White, Chairman of the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians
- “It’s now estimated that the average American family spends over $1,100 a year in swipe fee-related price increases. For many Native American families, that money can be a make-or-break issue, especially considering more than 1 in 5 Native Americans in Oklahoma are now living in poverty.” – Writes Jason Smalley, former Oklahoma state representative and state senator and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation
- North Carolinians — especially fellow members of the Lumbee Tribe — also feel the financial punch. A big portion of our community faces economic hardship, making us particularly vulnerable to even modest increases to the cost of living. And unfortunately, when businesses are being raked over the “swipe fee” coals, owners have no other choice but to pass along some of the financial burden to their customers.” – Writes Dominique Burleson, owner of Paperbacks & Frybread Co. and a member of the Lumbee Tribe
- “As a Crow Nation tribal member and small business owner on the Crow Reservation, the last few years have certainly been tough. Inflation continues to be a major problem for merchants and consumers alike, especially with prices up 22% since 2021. Unfortunately, hidden costs like credit card swipe fees continue to grow and make it nearly impossible to keep our prices down.” – Writes Tana Cummins, owner of Tipi Creek Coffee Company and a member of the Crow Nation
COMPETITION IS BETTER FOR EVERYONE
IT'S TIME TO PASS THE CREDIT CARD COMPETITION ACT