WR signed on to a letter to congress along with over 200 state and national associations and other business groups in support of the Credit Card Competition Act. S. 4674/H.R. 8874. The bill is sponsored by Senators Richard Durbin and Roger Marshall, and Representatives Peter Welch and Lance Gooden, seeks to rectify a financial imbalance favoring Wall Street megabanks and global card networks, notably Visa and Mastercard. It aims to ease the burden on small businesses and consumers grappling with near-record inflation by addressing the soaring credit and debit card swipe fees, which have risen over 25 percent in 2021 alone to $137.8 billion.
Critics point to a lack of competition as the root cause, with Visa and Mastercard controlling over 80% of the market. The Act requires cards issued by large banks (with $100 billion or more in assets) to be processed over at least two unaffiliated networks, encouraging competition, better pricing, security, and service. This won’t impact small banks or credit unions.
Additionally, it introduces a necessary redundancy, providing a backup for consumers in case of a network outage or a breach in Visa or Mastercard. The Act, while beneficial to all merchants, is especially important for small retailers, who are most affected by the rising swipe fees. Advocates call for Congress to choose Main Street over Wall Street by cosponsoring the Credit Card Competition Act, echoing hopes for a fairer, more competitive market system.
