Unfair Credit Card Fees.com

DEBIT CARD SWIPE FEE REFORM LOWERED PRICES
Study Finds Cutting Debit Fees Put $5.8 Billion in Consumers’ Hands in 2012 & Supported the Creation of 37,501 New Jobs Annually

THE BIGGEST BANK FEE YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF

Every time you swipe a credit or debit card, your bank takes a bite out of your payment. In fact, these hidden swipe fees cost Americans more than all credit-card annual fees, cash- advance fees, over-the-limit fees and late fees combined.

Did you know:

• Merchants pay $50 billion annually in swipe fees, most of it a windfall for the banks
• Between $2 and $4 on every $100 spent using a credit card goes to the banks, even though it costs only a few pennies to process the transaction. In many cases, the swipe fee is higher than what the merchant earns on the sale
• These fees drive up the prices for everything from gas to groceries, costing the average family more than $400 every year
• U.S. swipe fees are among the highest in the world; 7 times higher than the standard European rate even though there is higher volume and low technology costs here
• U.S. swipe fees are more than 4 times larger than in Australia
• Credit card swipe fees have tripled since 2004 despite technological improvements that have driven down the processing costs
• For most merchants, swipe fees have become the second-highest operating expense after labor