Credit Card Swipe Fees Hit Record Number
Swipe fees for credit cards and debit cards combined totaled $187.2 billion in 2024
Credit card swipe fees, a prominent challenge that circulates the c-store industry often, are once more making headlines with a record number. Swipe fees for credit cards and debit cards combined totaled $187.2 billion in 2024, up from $172 billion in 2023, according to the Nilson Report. The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) noted that was up 70% since the pandemic.
The swipe fees were led by Visa and Mastercard, which brings the Credit Card Competition Act into the conversation.
“With no competition to hold them in check, price-fixed swipe fees rise every year and shot up again last year,” said MPC Executive Committee member Christine Pollack, vice president of government relations at FMI — The Food Industry Association — in a statement. “As Main Street small businesses and American families continue to face economic uncertainty, the giant card networks and Wall Street banks continue to take more money out of their pockets every day. These fees contribute to inflation and siphon off money that could be used to hold down prices or invest in local communities. Momentum for swipe fee reform is rapidly growing in Congress, and constituents in every district are calling on lawmakers to stand up for Main Street over Wall Street.”
Visa and Mastercard control over 80% of the U.S. credit card network market. The Credit Card Competition Act would attempt to reduce credit card fees through enhanced credit card competition and choice.
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