Retailers Welcome Payments Competition Legislation
- By [ Austen Jensen ]
- Washington, DC
- 06/06/2023
“For far too long Visa and MasterCard, along with the largest Wall Street banks, have used interchange fees to discreetly fleece retailers, restaurants, and every business — to the tune of $160 billion dollars last year alone. The lack of competition in the credit card market means even though the cost of accepting and processing electronic payments has gone down, banks and card networks continue to raise fees unchecked, meaning higher costs for businesses and higher prices for consumers.
“The Credit Card Competition Act of 2023 ensures merchants will have more choices and can shop for service providers with more competitive prices when accepting credit card payments. Injecting competition into the payments market will benefit American consumers and businesses of all sizes.
“In 2022, U.S. retailers paid an astounding $160 billion to accept electronic payments, a whopping increase from 2015 when merchants paid $83 billion; and more than double what the merchant community paid in 2011, $64 billion. This trajectory is simply unsustainable and reflects a broken market.
“RILA believes competition is the hallmark of America’s retail industry. It drives innovation and brings consumers lower prices and new products and services. We applaud the bipartisan efforts by Senators Durbin (D-IL), Marshall (R-KS), Welch (D-VT) and Vance (R-OH), and Representatives Gooden (R-TX), Lofgren (D-CA), Tiffany (R-WI) and Van Drew (R-NJ) for their leadership in working to bring competition into the payments market."
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RILA is the US trade association for leading retailers. We convene decision-makers, advocate for the industry, and promote operational excellence and innovation. Our aim is to elevate a dynamic industry by transforming the environment in which retailers operate.
RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs, and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers domestically and abroad.
Tags
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Payments
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Competition
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Public Policy
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Supporting Free Markets and Fostering Innovation
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Finance
