FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: J. Craig Shearman
(202) 257-3678 craig@shearmancommunications.com
WASHINGTON, Oct. 29, 2026 — The Merchants Payments Coalition today welcomed a letter from tribally owned Native American convenience stores asking Congress to protect resources needed to provide tribal services by passing the Credit Card Competition Act.
“Few actions Congress could take would do more to improve affordability for consumers, lower costs for small businesses and strengthen the ability of tribal enterprises to reinvest in the communities they serve,” Tribal Convenience Store Association Chairman Isaiah Coley said. “We urge Congress to pass this important legislation as soon as possible.”
“For tribal nations, this is not simply another operating expense,” Coley, who is assistant retail director for the Squaxin Island Tribe in Washington state, said of credit card swipe fees. “It is also an issue of economic sovereignty and self-determination.”
Coley’s comments came in a letter sent to House and Senate leadership on Wednesday. His association represents gas stations and convenience stores owned by 69 Native American tribes across 13 states.
Unlike privately owned businesses, “swipe fees are not simply another cost of doing business for our members” because tribal businesses “are an important part of how tribal nations build economic independence” and “every dollar unnecessarily removed from a tribal enterprise is a dollar that cannot be reinvested into our business, our people or our communities,” Coley said. Profits from the businesses support the sovereign nations’ law enforcement, fire and emergency services, utilities, roads, other infrastructure, community facilities and programs, economic development and other services, he said.
“The concerns expressed by the Native American community show that the impact of swipe fees goes far beyond just driving up prices in stores,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said. “On tribal lands across the country, swipe fees unfairly take away financial resources that are badly needed to provide essential local services. It’s time for Congress to protect all Americans from these growing fees.”
The Tribal Convenience Store Association is the latest Native American organization to endorse the CCCA. Last year, the Coalition of Large Tribes, representing more than 50 tribes and more than half of the U.S. Native American population, said the CCCA would be “transformative” because swipe fees “literally keep food out of reach for some tribal families.” That endorsement followed calls for passage from representatives of multiple individual tribes.
Credit card and debit card swipe fees have risen 80% since the pandemic and hit a record $198.25 billion in 2025. They are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor, driving up prices by more than $1,200 a year for the average family.
The fees are rising because of lack of competition. Visa and Mastercard, which control 80% of the market, each centrally set the swipe fee rates charged by all banks that issue cards under their brands and also restrict processing to their own networks. The CCCA would address that by requiring banks with at least $100 billion in assets to enable credit cards to be processed over at least one unaffiliated network like Star, NYCE or Shazam in addition to Visa or Mastercard. The measure is expected to result in competition over fees, security and service that would save merchants and their customers $17 billion a year.
About MPC
The Merchants Payments Coalition represents retailers, supermarkets, convenience stores, gasoline stations, online merchants and others fighting for a more competitive and transparent card system that is fair to consumers and merchants. Follow MPC on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn for the latest on swipe fees.
