The National Retail Federation and a group of small retailers told Congress today small businesses are the hardest hit by high credit card “swipe” fees that are driving up inflation and that they want to see more competition in the payments market.
“Ongoing and unwarranted increases in swipe fees are especially damaging to small retailers,” NRF Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel Stephanie Martz said. “We have heard many stories from small retailers about the extreme challenges posed by the current payments system and Visa and Mastercard’s continuing monopoly. It is small retailers who are calling for swipe fee reform more than any other segment of our industry. They pay the highest swipe fees and have the fewest resources to fight back against global credit card networks and Wall Street banks. They want the card industry to compete the same as they do.”
Martz’s comments came in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is holding a hearing today on “Excessive Swipe Fees and Barriers to Competition in the Credit and Debit Card Systems.”
“At a time when retailers of all sizes are facing supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and rampant inflation in a still-recovering economy, the dramatic increase in swipe fees and the lack of competition in the U.S. payments system require close examination by Congress,” Martz said. “Lack of competition is why swipe fees keep rising, and it is necessary that Congress demand answers.”
WR encourages you to tell Congress it’s time to fight swipe fee inflation and support reforms to the U.S. credit card market that promote competition, transparency, and lower costs.
Join in on the campaign and contact Congress today.
