Merchants Visit Washington to Protect Consumer Savings and Main Street Businesses
Washington, D.C. (April 26, 2017) – Forty merchants from around the nation will meet with 100 members of Congress today to try to save debit-card reform as the House Financial Services Committee begins discussing its repeal.
Reform has saved consumers $30 billion in the five years it has been in effect, according to research cited by the Merchants Payments Coalition, a large group of retailers fighting for reform of the payments business.
Before reform, Visa and MasterCard had price-fixed the fees banks charge merchants to process debit-card purchases. Reform introduced modest competition.
Merchants will remind Congress that retail is a huge chunk of the national economy, employs 50 million Americans and is comprised mostly of small businesses.
Reform not only lowered consumer prices but also bolstered Main Street businesses struggling with intense competition.
Reform also brought competition to Visa and MasterCard, which dominate the business, by ensuring they couldn’t block smaller competitors from handling debit transactions.
This competition has been good for the economy and helped people save money. Merchants have come to Washington to protect this progress.
The Merchants Payments Coalition represents retailers, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, gas stations, on-line merchants and others fighting for a more competitive and transparent card system that is fair to consumers and merchants. Member associations represent 2.7 million stores with 50 million employees.
Contact: Michael Flagg, 202 253-4164, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)