Small retail businesses across the country are celebrating the reintroduction of the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act. Introduced by Senators Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Representatives Lance Gooden, R-Texas, and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., this bill would provide long-awaited relief for small businesses and customers from inflationary credit card swipe fees by injecting fairness into the credit card processing market.
Fed up with unfair swipe fees? Learn more about the Credit Card Competition Act.
Every time a card is swiped, banks and payment networks collect record profits from businesses and consumers. Right now, two companies — Visa and Mastercard — dominate nearly 80% of the market and work together with the nation’s largest credit card issuers to set high, nonnegotiable fees that merchants are forced to pay. These fees are only continuing to rise, leaving small businesses to either absorb the cost or pass it on to consumers through higher prices.
American families feel the ripple effects of these unfair fees as well. With the cost of everyday goods continuing to climb, swipe fees amount to a hidden tax that American families share the burden of. In fact, the average household pays over $1,200 annually in higher prices regardless of whether they even use a credit card.
We spoke to three small retail business owners on why they want Congress to pass the Credit Card Competition Act.
For many small businesses, credit card swipe fees are one of their highest operating costs after labor. Danny Reynolds, owner of women’s boutique Stephenson’s of Elkhart in Elkhart, Ind., says swipe fees are one of his top three expenses and have consistently risen each year since 2020. It’s also the only fee he cannot negotiate. “Unlike other large business expenses like inventory and rent, these fees are currently non-negotiable,” Reynolds says.
He is hopeful the CCCA will “introduce competition into the processing market and begin saving businesses of all sizes some hard-earned revenue that they can use to grow and further support their communities."
“Credit card swipe fees are crippling small business,” says Ann Cantrell, owner of Annie’s Blue Ribbon General Store in Brooklyn, N.Y. She says high swipe fees are preventing her from hiring more staff for her gift shop. “We could hire a new full-time manager at our shop for the amount of money we paid last year in swipe fees.”
Cantrell also says more customers are using credit cards instead of cash — meaning the added swipe fees “deeply affect almost every transaction.”
As small businesses have been grappling with uncertainty and increased costs due to tariffs, reforms from the CCCA would provide some much needed relief. “As a small, woman owned business, rising costs and tariff uncertainty have made every dollar matter,” says Lisa-Jae Eggert, owner of New York–based insect repellent company 3 Moms Organics.
Eggert is optimistic that, if passed, the Credit Card Competition Act would introduce long-overdue competition in the payment processing market, helping reduce swipe fees so “small businesses like mine can reinvest in growth, jobs and keeping prices fair for families.”
The CCCA will provide direct relief to both retailers and consumers, ensuring retailers can continue delivering quality products at affordable prices. These reforms have the potential to save American businesses and consumers an estimated $17 billion in swipe fees per year. Join NRF in calling on Congress to act by participating in our grassroots campaign.
