WASHINGTON -- The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) Legislative Committee Chairperson Jennifer Hatchercommenting on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs' hearing on Thursday, Examining the Billing, Marketing & Disclosure Practices of the Credit Card Industry & Their Impact on Consumerssaid, "We applaud the efforts of [Chairperson Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.)], who called for heightened scrutiny into the credit card industry and will be holding a series of hearings in coming months to investigate further among other topics the practice [image-nocss] of hidden credit and debit card 'interchange fees'.
She added, The credit card companies have long profited from placing hidden fees and practices on unsuspecting merchants and consumers. The interchange fee is the biggest fee consumers have never heard of and accounts for more than the total of all other consumer fees such as late fees and over-the-limit fees. Last year, Visa and MasterCard generated more than $30 billion in credit and debit card interchange feesa fee set in secret by Visa and MasterCard and imposed on merchants and consumers by the credit card industry and completely hidden from consumers."
The MPC, a group of nearly 30 associations representing retailers, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, fuel stations, online merchants and other businesses that accept debit and credit cards, are fighting for a more competitive and transparent card system that works better for consumers and merchants alike. The coalition's member associations collectively represent about 2.7 million stores with approximately 50 million employees.
Also, representatives of the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA) were present at the hearing. The rising cost of accepting credit cards is a top issue for PMAA members, the group said in a statement. In 2005, more than $30 billion in interchange fees were collected from retailers by Visa, MasterCard and issuing banks, up from $16 billion in 2001. For the average gas station or convenience store retailer, the cost of credit card acceptance exceeded $30,000 in 2005 and is expected to top $40,000 in 2006. U.S. consumers pay among the highest interchange fees in the world, yet most are unaware of the fees which are not allowed to be disclosed by merchants to their customers.
The statement added, Most important to PMAA members, [Dodd] promised that his committee will hold future hearings to more adequately investigate the way in which card companies assess interchange fees.
As part of the Merchants Payments Coalition, PMAA supports any congressional action that will bring fairness and transparency into the interchange arena, it said.
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