Swipe Fees Still On Schedule To Rise In April
On January 13, 2022 Visa and Mastercard reminded retailers that the plan that was originally set for 2020 but delayed because of the pandemic, will take place this April – an increase of 0.5 percent in retailer fees.
Bloomberg estimates that when Visa and Mastercard increase their fees by 0.5 percent, expect the merchant fees you pay processors and point of sale systems to impact profits by 15-25 percent.
Meanwhile, the Merchants Payment Coalition (MPC) sent a letter to Members of the Senate Banking and House Finance Committees.
The letter was spurred by the moves by Amazon to stop accepting Visa in the U.K. due to high fees.
Amazon has since stopped the freeze of Visa while in negotiation with the company.
Members of the coalition wanted to bring Amazon’s efforts to the attention of the committees and to also remind Members that the problem is far worse here in the United States.
Specifically, “As bad as the situation is in the United Kingdom, the pain for merchants is far worse in the United States, which has the highest swipe fees in the industrialized world.
Visa’s rates here are four times what they are in the UK, and the total amount collected is more than 100 times as much.
We believe U.S. authorities should look closely at what Amazon has done in the UK and need to be aware that many retailers here feel the same.
It’s time to bring about competition that will require the U.S. card industry to play under the same rules as any other business.”
