Congress Weighs Bill to Lower Credit Card Fees and Save Consumers Money
-
Swipe fees charged by credit card networks like Visa and Mastercard are very high in the U.S. compared to other countries. This costs retailers billions each year.
-
Visa and Mastercard form a duopoly that charges excessive fees to retailers, who have no choice but to pay. This gets passed on to consumers through higher prices.
-
The Credit Card Competition Act would require banks to allow at least one additional network besides Visa/Mastercard to process transactions. This would introduce competition and put downward pressure on swipe fees.
-
Wall Street banks and anti-government groups oppose the bill, falsely claiming it is overregulation. But it uses market forces, not government price controls, to increase competition.
-
Congress should support the bill to fix this broken market and stand up to misleading lobbying by the financial industry trying to maintain its unfair profits.