WASHINGTON -- House lawmakers are poised to debate legislation that aims to limit the interchange fees that credit-card companies exact on transactions at retail stores, reported The Hill. TheHouse Financial Services Committeewill hold a hearing on the bill on Thursday, it said. Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) have sponsored legislation aimed at clamping down on interchange fees. Welch appeared at a rally on the issue on Wednesday with [image-nocss] a group of 7-Eleven store operators and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).
On September 30, 7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto, members of the 7-Eleven senior team, field consultants and franchisees and national coalition of 7-Eleven franchisees went to Washington and delivered to members of Congress approximately 130 boxes with more than 1.66 million signatures to raise awareness of the issue of unfair credit-card fees. They held a press conference and rally in Upper Senate Park on Capitol Hill, calling for Congress to pass interchange reform. (Click here to view photos of the event.)Several franchisees joined DePinto to ask Congress to help end "unfair and excessive" credit-card fees. "We want to bring to the attention of Congress that we have an unfair credit-card fee, and banks will not let us sit down and negotiate," Mark Chiochankitmun told The Washington Times. He has operated a 7-Eleven store in Washington for 30 years. "Each year, store owners spend about $25,000 to $45,000 a year in fees. President Obama and Congress work to protect consumers from credit-card companies and overlook the merchant. We just want to bring the credit-card company to the table."
Store owners want the ability to negotiate the price of the interchange fees they are charged by banks each time a customer uses a credit card. Officials at 7-Eleven say interchange fees totaled $48 billion in 2008.
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