Payments

Swipe fees will add $2.5B to back-to-school spending

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August 5, 2022

The swipe fees banks charge retailers to process credit cards will add an estimated $2.5 billion to the cost of everything, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.

That amounts to almost $20 in swipe fees for the average family, according to a press release from the coalition, or the price of a lunch box.

"Swipe fees are a hidden tax on almost everything Americans buy regardless of whether they pay with cards or cash," MPC executive committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said in the release.

"Because swipe fees are a percentage of the transaction amount, these fees automatically go up as prices go up, driving inflation even higher. Banks and card networks are raising prices on the backs of American schoolchildren trying to get an education. That isn't right, and it's time for Congress to require competition that would bring these fees under control."

Banks and card companies take more than 2% of the transaction every time a credit card is used to make a purchase.

Swipe fees soared 25% last year to a record $137.8 billion for credit and debit cards combined and have more than doubled over the past decade.

The Merchants Payments Coalition represents retailers, supermarkets, convenience stores, gasoline stations and online merchants and others striving for a more competitive and transparent card system that is fair to consumers and merchants.