QUINCY, Mass. -- The owner of a 7-Eleven store in Quincy, Mass., ended up in Washington last week standing shoulder-to-shoulder with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and financial services chairman Barney Frank, reported the Wicked Local blog serving eastern Massachusetts.
Dennis Lane has been one of the most visible proponents of curbing the "swipe fees" that retailers gets charged when consumers use debit and credit cards. As part of the broad Wall Street reform package passed by the House, Lane would get half of what he was seeking: The measure would require the Federal [image-nocss] Reserve to regulate debit-card transaction fees imposed on retailers to ensure they are "fair and proportionate."
Transaction fees for credit cards would continue untouched. But Lane told Wicked Local that he is ecstatic just to get this far. He said he does not think there would be the same kind of progress on the issue if credit cards were included, too.
Lane became a spokesperson for the cause during his two years as chairman of the National Coalition of Associations of 7-Eleven Franchisees. He helped deliver petitions to Congress last year with more than 1.6 million signatures gathered at 7-Eleven stores across the country. The petitions urged Congress to stop unfair bank card fees.
Lane's term as chairman was over at the end of last year, but he already was taking up a broader role in the fight as a national spokesperson for the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).
As a prominent retail industry representative, he was asked to speak at the press conference on Wednesday following the House approval of the financial reform bill. The legislation now moves to the Senate, where action will likely take place later this month.
The debate over transaction fees, which has been simmering in Congress for several years, recently emerged as a public fight after the issue was attached to such a high-profile piece of legislation.
The swipe-fee debate has often been portrayed as a battle between big banks (small banks would be exempt from the new Fed oversight) and big retailers. But Lanewho owns only one storeis a perfect example of a small businessman who would benefit if this bill was passed, Wicked Local said.
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