Small Business Owners Call Out Exorbitant Swipe Fees and Urge Congress to Pass the Credit Card Competition Act Before End of Year
November 15, 2024
Small businesses across the country are getting crushed by credit card processing fees, known as “swipe fees,” and continue to advocate for Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act (S.1838) to inject competition into the payments industry. Together, VISA and Mastercard control more than 80% of the credit card market. Their dominance allows them to extract a monopoly tax of 2-4% of every merchant transaction.
Dozens of small business groups urged Congress to pass this important legislation earlier this year, asking the United States Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on this key legislation. A hearing has been announced for Tuesday, Nov 19th, 10am. More than 30 small business associations pushed Congress to heed the calls of small businesses and pass the CCCA.
We believe it’s important for our legislators to hear directly from small businesses owners — particularly as legislators are inundated on Capitol Hill with banking and credit card company lobbyists vying to maintain the payments industry monopoly. 30+ small business owners share their stories here.
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““My shop spends tens of thousands on credit card fees every year with fewer and fewer customers paying with cash. It’s a tough pill to swallow when I see that our credit card processor gets paid more in a year than any single staff member gets paid, including me.””
Campaign Partners:
American Booksellers Association, American Independent Business Alliance, American Specialty Toy Retailing Association, Independent Restaurant Coalition, Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Local Business Institute, Local First Arizona, Louisville Independent Business Alliance, Lowcountry Local First, Main Street Alliance, Merchants Payments Association, National Association of Convenience Stores, National Ski & Snowboard Retailers Association, National Sporting Goods Association, New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association, North American Hardware and Paint Association, Slow Flowers Society, StayLocal an initiative of Urban Conservancy, Workplace Solutions Association.
More:
Small Business Groups Across America Show Support for CCCA — Small Business Rising partners, August 28, 2024.
Small Business Groups Urge Senate Judiciary Committee to Pass Credit Card Competition Act — Small Business Rising partners, February 5, 2024.
Fact Sheet: Credit Card Swipe Fees — A Hidden Monopoly Tax on Small Businesses and Shoppers — Institute for Local Self-Reliance, June 20, 2023.
Small Businesses Rise to Fight Wall Street — The American Prospect, February 7, 2024.
Merchants Payment Coalition is made up of trade associations and “dedicated to fighting unfair credit and debit card fees and advocates for a more competitive and transparent payments system.”
LowerCreditCardFees.com — A diverse group of organizations representing workers, small businesses, competition and consumer advocates, launched a new ‘Lower Credit Card Fees’ Coalition to dispel myths surrounding the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) and urging Congress to pass it.