Walmart and Target among 1,600 merchants calling for credit-card fee law -In 2021 alone, U.S. merchants and consumers paid nearly $138 billion in card fees .
Bipartisan bills in Congress aim to lower the swipe fees, also known as interchange fees, that retailers pay every time a customer makes a purchase with their card. The effort is backed by retail giants including Walmart, (WMT) Target (TGT), and Kroger (KR), as well as convenience stores and independent grocers.
Swipe fees for credit cards are higher in the United States than anywhere else in the industrialized world-more than seven times as high as Europe,” a group of more than 1,600 merchants said in their letter, the Journal reported Wednesday. Debit cards already carry a requirement for routing options in most cases. Visa Chief Financial Officer Vasant Prabhu addressed the proposed legislation at a Goldman Sachs conference earlier this week, saying that there is already “a ton of competition” in the credit-card business and that reductions in interchange fees as a result of any new laws could impact the rewards landscape for consumers.
Major change coming to Walmart, Target, and hundreds of retailers may save Visa and Mastercard users from paying big fee
The new legislation would require the Federal Reserve to create regulations for large banks issuing credit cards, forcing them to enable at least one network that isn’t Visa or Mastercard-affiliated, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Visa and Mastercard credit cards issued by banks with assets totaling more than $100 billion would be affected.
The merchants argued in a letter to Congress that the bill would increase competition among the networks, resulting in a reduction of the fees they’re subjected to when they accept customers’ credit cards.
Walmart and Target push to lower credit card fees
A pair of bipartisan bills in Congress aim to lower the swipe fees, also known as interchange fees, that retailers pay every …
8 common credit card fees and how to avoid them:
1. Annual fee
If you don’t want to pay a fee to have a credit card, simply opt for a no-annual-fee card. The Citi® Double Cash Card is our top pick for consumers with excellent credit looking to earn cash back. Alternatively, if you have fair or average credit, you can consider the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card.
2. Interest charges
Paying your bill in full every month is the simplest way to avoid interest. If you can’t afford to pay your bill in full, reduce your spending or consider a 0% APR card that doesn’t charge interest for up to 21 months.
If you have fair or average credit, check out the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card, whereas if you have good credit or excellent credit, you can consider the U.S. Bank Visa® Platinum Card.
3. Late payment fee
You can open a credit card that has no late fees, such as the Petal® 2 “Cash Back, No Fees” Visa® Credit Card if you have no credit history or the Citi Simplicity® Card for good to excellent credit.
3. Balance transfer fee
While balance transfer fees can often be outweighed by the amount of money you save during the interest-free period, you can check out cards that have no balance transfer fees. These cards typically require good to excellent credit.
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