Small business owners in West Virginia are eager for Congress to pass legislation with positive, tangible effects on our economy. Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., is no stranger to serving the people of West Virginia, and as he pivots from his strong tenure as governor to the halls of Congress alongside Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., I hope they’ll both work to lower costs by tackling the out-of-control credit card swipe fees that continue burdening small businesses and consumers.
Swipe fees are no joke, especially when you consider they cost the average household nearly $1,200 per year. That’s comparable to an average month of rent in some areas or nearly three months of groceries. Reducing these fees would mean more money back in the pockets of everyday consumers.
To do this, Congress should pass the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) and break the grip Visa and Mastercard have on the credit card industry. The two companies have amassed an overwhelming share of the market through anti-competitive practices, boxing out competitors and ensuring they can continue raising fees as they please.
Through this duopoly, swipe fees have more than tripled in the past 10 years, creating a significant burden on both businesses and the consumers they serve. Every time consumers pay with a credit card, merchants incur a swipe fee charged as a percent of the total transaction. West Virginia merchants paid an estimated $383 million in swipe fees in 2023 alone. The more swipe fees increase, the more merchants are compelled to raise prices on their own goods in order to keep the lights on, in effect passing the higher fees on to their customers.
By passing the CCCA, retailers would have the ability to pick between at least two credit card networks, extending their options beyond just Visa and Mastercard. In doing so, the CCCA would pave the way for more competition in an industry that sorely needs it, motivating big players like Visa and Mastercard to drop their swipe fees to a more reasonable level. This would save West Virginia more than $60 million a year, helping merchants lower prices and relieving the burden on families who are simply trying to afford the necessities.
The cost of swipe fees has been growing exponentially, and I’m confident our senators will put an end to it by passing the CCCA. Accepting the status quo will only continue to hurt merchants and consumers, it’s time to end the market failure and foster a competitive credit card industry.
Paul Smith is a James Beard Award-winning chef from ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. Smith operates The Pitch Sports Bar & Grill and 1010 Bridge.
