More than 30 small business associations have urged the United States Committee on the Judiciary to pass the Credit Card Competition Act in a letter sent to the committee ahead of a reported hearing on the legislation.
“The below undersigned organizations from Small Business Rising — a coalition of small business membership associations representing more than 300,000 independent businesses — are writing to show our support for the bipartisan, bicameral 2023 Credit Card Competition Act (S.1838) and to underscore the urgency for Congress to pass this legislation. With the upcoming Senate Judiciary committee hearing, we urge you to heed the calls of the small business community for this lifeline, which would spur competition and curtail the outsized power of the big banks and dominant credit card companies.
“As detailed in our July 2023 letter to Congress thanking lead bill co-sponsors Senator Durbin and Senator Marshall, concentrated market power is the single biggest threat facing independent businesses, and it's clear we have a financial system that benefits behemoth corporations at the expense of small businesses and consumers. Our coalition partners have identified exorbitant credit card interchange fees — also known as “swipe fees” — as a top issue undermining the ability of their small business members to serve their communities because these growing fees are eating into their margins. Swipe fees are small businesses’ highest expense after payroll, even though Visa and Mastercard add only nominal value to the goods and services these merchants provide. What’s more, swipe fees increase the cost of food and goods for the average American family by $1,000 a year according to 2022 figures from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.”
Signed,
Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding
American Booksellers Association
American Independent Business Alliance
American Specialty Toy Retailing Association
Cambridge Local First
GO LOCAL Sonoma County
Independent Restaurant Coalition
Institute for Local Self-Reliance
Local First Arizona
Local Return
Louisville Independent Business Alliance
Love Live Local, Inc
Lowcountry Local First
Main Street Alliance
National Bicycle Dealers Association
National Community Pharmacists Association
National Grocers Association
National Ski & Snowboard Retailers Association
National Sporting Goods Association
New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association
North American Hardware and Paint Association
North American Marine Alliance
People First Economy (MI)
Provender Alliance
Running Industry Association
Shop Local Raleigh
Southeast Michigan Sustainable Business Forum
Spokane Independent Metro Business Alliance
StayLocal an initiative of Urban Conservancy
Workplace Solutions Association
Yorktown Small Business Association