Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Bill Shuster (R-PA) have introduced the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009, H.R. 2382. This legislation would eliminate several of the most onerous Visa and MasterCard rules facing merchants, such as the "honor all cards" rule. It would also require full disclosure of interchange rates and terms to the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Reserve, and consumers. We strongly urge you to write your Representatives to ask them to co-sponsor this important interchange legislation or to thank them if they are already a supporter of the bill.

Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,

One of the most significant expenses our company confronts everyday, and the only expense we have no ability to control in our business, is credit card interchange fees. Interchange fees average roughly 2% of each card transaction, which creates a real crunch on a business like ours that operates on razor thin profit margins of not much more than 1 to 2%.

On the surface, the payments industry may appear to be more competitive than ever, but that is absolutely not the case. Visa and MasterCard control over 80% of the payments card market and use that market power to set interchange rates. Retail is one of the most competitive industries in America, and refusing to accept credit cards in today's plastic-driven society is not a reasonable option for us and most other businesses. Because of the take-or-leave-it situation Visa and MasterCard have created with their anticompetitive behavior, we are forced to accept whatever rates and terms the credit card giants dictate even though out of control rate increases are extremely harmful to us and, in turn, the customers we serve.

Bi-partisan legislation was just reintroduced by Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Bill Shuster (R-PA) to address this fee and the lack of transparency and fairness in how it is assessed. The Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009, H.R. 2382, would eliminate many of the anticompetitive rules the credit card companies have written into their 1000+ page operating rules for small businesses who accept the cards. These restrictive merchant rules also make it virtually impossible for storeowners to make clear to their customers the true cost of credit and debit cards; their elimination is essential to making the excessive cost of these financial products apparent to consumers.

We strongly encourage you to co-sponsor the bi-partisan Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009, H.R. 2382, and work for its passage this Congress. This bill will provide much-needed relief to consumers and small businesses in these tough economic times, and we hope we can count on your support. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Campaign Launched:
May 28, 2009