The extraction of sky-high fees from merchants and consumers “should not be the cost of doing business,” says Lauren Gellatly

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 24, 2024) — The Small Business Rising coalition and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance released the following statement in response to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s lawsuit against Visa for illegally punishing or threatening to punish merchants with higher fees if they try to use competing services to process debit card payments.

“The DOJ Antitrust Division’s action to rein in Visa’s predatory monopoly tax on debit card transactions is welcome news for small businesses across the country. For far too long, powerful financial middlemen, including Visa, have abused their market power to extract sky-high fees from merchants and consumers. This should not be the cost of doing business,” said Lauren Gellatly, Senior Advocacy and Campaigns Manager of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and spokesperson for Small Business Rising.

“We are encouraged by the DOJ’s action to rein in Visa’s monopoly over the debit card market and address anticompetitive behavior that allows Visa to extract 83% margins while small businesses and consumers struggle to make ends meet. Additionally, we call on Congress to immediately pass the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act to inject much needed competition into the monopolistic credit card payments industry and lower exorbitant swipe fees. Swipe fees are a top pain point for the small businesses in our network. While the lawsuit makes its way through the judicial process, Congress has the power to take action now. With a problem of this scale, we need all our branches of government working to heed the calls of the small business community for a fair and competitive market to do business.”

For fifty years, ILSR has worked to expose and end the market power abuses that have been killing off independent businesses and harming the communities they serve. The Small Business Rising coalition was formed in 2021 to rein in dominant corporations and create a level playing field for independent businesses.

Op-ed: Credit card reform will help small businesses and consumers, Lauren Gellatly and Sue Warfield, San Jose Spotlight, July 30, 2024.
Small Business Groups Urge Senate Judiciary Committee to Pass Credit Card Competition Act, Small Business Rising coalition partners, February 5, 2024.
30+ Independent Business Groups Support Reining in the Credit Card Monopolies, Small Business Rising coalition partners, June 28, 2023.
Fact Sheet: Credit Card Swipe Fees — A Hidden Monopoly Tax on Small Businesses and Shoppers, Katy Milani, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 20, 2023.
Small Businesses Rise to Fight Wall Street, Luke Goldstein, The American Prospect, February 7, 2023.
Visa Wants to Rule How We Pay for Purchases. But Its Market Power Has a High Cost. Olivia LaVecchia, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, August 14, 2017.