"They [image-nocss] too want Congress to take action to regulate these unfair fees, which are the highest in the industrialized world," DePinto (pictured) said in a statement.
Banks and the credit card network operators Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. dismissed the event as a stunt, saying consumers were fooled into signing the petition. "This petition is not what it appears to be. 7-Eleven used deceptive language to trick their customers into signing something they thought would save them money," a coalition of banks and card network operators said in a statement.
Retailers claim the swipe or interchange fees, which average about 1.75% of the purchase price, are a hidden tax on consumers because merchants, squeezed by razor-thin profit margins, are forced to pass them on by raising prices. They also contend that Visa and MasterCard, which have a combined 80% share of the credit-card industry, use their market power to keep the fees high so they can expand their network of member banks.
"We've sat down with these guys before. It's not a discussion. It's not a fair negotiation," DePinto said Wednesday.
Banks argue the fees are a fair price for the increased sales retailers generate when consumers enjoy the convenience of credit cards. If the fees were lowered, retailers would pocket the savings rather than pass them on to their customers, they argue.
Interchange fees paid by merchants have grown from $16 billion in 2001 to $48 billion in 2008, according to the retailers. 7-Eleven said its franchises paid $160 million in swipe fees last year.
Navdeep Bassi, a franchise owner from Costa Mesa, Calif., who appeared at the rally, told Dow Jones that he paid $28,000or more than a third of his take-home payin fees last year.
Proponents have pushed legislation in both the House and the Senate that aims to rein in the fees, but the proposals have failed to gain traction, partly due to lawmakers' reluctance to take sides in a business brawl.
Representatives Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), co-sponsors of legislation to crack down on the fees, attempted to cast the issue in a populist light. "The banks and the financial institutions are greedy and they get away with it," Lofgren said, telling the crowd of 7-Eleven franchisees they are victims of that greed.
7-Eleven began the "Stop Unfair Credit Card Fees" petition drive in June. On Wednesday, dozens of franchise owners began delivering 14,000 petition pads to more than 30 congressional offices. The company said they contain the most signatures ever collected for a public policy issue on record.
Retailers capitalized on the public's recent anger toward banks and credit card issuers.
Collecting the signatures from his customers "was the easiest thing we've done because they hate the credit-card companies," Ali Ardabilizadeh, a 7-Eleven Political Action Committee member and franchisee from San Clemente, Calif., told Dow Jones.
In a statement, the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) called the presentation of the signatures a "stunt." It said, "It is the height of irony that a convenience store, which regularly marks up their products by as much as 500% for 'convenience sake,' doesn't want to pay for the convenience of accepting cards. They want their customers to pay for that convenience, too. Enough is enough."
The EPC added, "This petition is not what it appears to be. 7-Eleven used deceptive language to trick their customers into signing something they thought would save them money. How many would have signed a petition that said, 'sign here if you want to pay more to use your debit or credit card, so we can profit?' Merchants understand that when they accept debit and credit, their sales go up by as much as 50%, their profits increase, and they relieve themselves of significant risk and bookkeeping headaches. But some merchants, like 7-Eleven, think that their customers should pay for this service instead, and that's not fair."
It concluded, "We urge Members of Congress not to be fooled by this convenience store stunta clear and obvious attempt to line their pockets."
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