Big banks want Congress to raise card fees and stop consumer discounting on gasoline.
Don’t let Visa and MasterCard undo swipe fee reform.
Don’t let them and the big banks hurt small businesses and consumers again.
In 2009 alone, American consumers paid over $48 billion in credit and debit card swipe fees. Even consumers who don't use plastic pay more through higher prices.
That's why we need your help to make sure that swipe fee reforms are here to stay so that we can put an end to credit card company price fixing. It's time to change interchange and make it fair.
Congress enacted legislation to reform swipe fees and fix the broken marketplace. The Federal Reserve has proposed a rule that is an important step in creating a more fair and transparenct market for consumers, but there are those in Congress who want to take away the consumer discounts and give your hard-earned money right back to the big banks.
If you want to say yes to customer discounts and yes to transparency, here is how you can help:
- Contact Congress: Write a letter to your elected representatives in Washington telling them that this is an issue you care about.
- Send a letter to the editor of your local paper: Write the editor of your local paper about the unfair and costly credit card fees facing you as a consumer.
- Tell A Friend: If you were unaware of these hidden credit card fees, most likely your friends haven’t heard of them either. Please share this information by sending an email encouraging your friends to visit unfaircreditcardfees.com
- Join Our List: For periodic updates on the fight against unfair credit card fees, please provide your contact information. You can refer to our privacy policy which details that we will not use your information for purposes other than keeping you informed.
The swipe fee is a percentage of each transaction that Visa and MasterCard collect from retailers every time a credit or debit card is used to pay for a purchase. Nearly $2 of every $100 American consumers spend using credit cards goes directly to the credit card industry through the swipe fee, the hidden fee that is charged every time you use a credit or debit card. Even consumers who don't use plastic pay more through higher prices.
Interchange is the biggest credit card fee you've never heard of. In 2009 alone, American consumers paid more than $48 billion in credit and debit card swipe fees - more than twice what we paid in late fees. In fact, swipe fees cost us more than credit card annual fees, cash advance fees, over-the-limit fees, and late fees combined. And since 2001 alone, credit card interchange fees have risen 300%!
Americans consumers pay among the highest credit card interchange fees in the industrialized world, three times what British consumers pay. In Britain and some other industrialized countries, credit card interchange fees are viewed as unjustified and harmful to competition. Some countries, including the EU, are taking steps to deal with credit card interchange fees even though the fees consumers pay overseas are much lower than what Americans pay. The United States lags far behind the British, the European Community, and our other major trading partners in terms of grappling with this threat to open markets and free competition.