Grocery industry trade groups are renewing calls for credit card swipe fee reform following the reintroduction of the Credit Card Competition Act, bipartisan legislation aimed at increasing competition in the credit card marketplace and reducing costs for merchants and consumers.
The National Grocers Association (NGA) and FMI – The Food Industry Association voiced support for the bill’s reintroduction by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS), Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX-05) and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-18), citing the impact of rising swipe fees on independent grocers operating on thin margins.
NGA President Greg Ferrara and FMI President and CEO Leslie Sarasin both expressed their appreciation to President Donald Trump for his endorsement of the Credit Card Competition Act.
NGA noted that Visa and Mastercard set the fees charged to banks and routinely increase costs for merchants, while also restricting competitors from processing credit transactions on their networks. As a founding member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, NGA said it has worked with other merchant associations for nearly two decades to address swipe fee reform and formally endorsed the legislation in a letter sent to congressional leadership.
“This legislation is urgently needed to fix a credit card marketplace that is fundamentally broken and stacked against small businesses – especially independent community grocers,” said Christopher Jones, NGA chief government relations officer.
“Visa and Mastercard control 80 percent of the credit card marketplace and refuse to negotiate fees with family-owned supermarkets. With margins of under 2 percent, grocers have no choice but to pass these excessive swipe fees on to consumers in the form of higher grocery prices. The Credit Card Competition Act would provide much-needed relief to independent grocers and their customers, who benefit the most from competition in the marketplace.”
FMI also highlighted the leadership of the bill’s bipartisan sponsors and outlined how the legislation would require the nation’s largest banks to enable a second credit card network on cards, similar to existing debit card requirements.
“FMI enthusiastically endorses the reintroduction of the Credit Card Competition Act and praises Senators Marshall and Durbin and Representatives Gooden and Lofgren for their steadfast leadership in bringing credit card swipe fee reform to the broken market that has long disadvantaged U.S. grocery customers and grocers nationwide,” said Jennifer Hatcher, FMI chief public policy officer.
Hatcher added that the bill would introduce competition, provide alternative routing options during system outages and deliver relief to both merchants and consumers.
“For far too long, Visa and Mastercard have arbitrarily increased credit card swipe fees on merchants and consumers and used the anticompetitive practice of setting these fees for the benefit the issuing banks and credit unions in addition to themselves at a rate that often exceeds 3 percent while retailer profit margins sit at 1.7 percent,” Hatcher said. “The bipartisan, bicameral Marshall-Durbin-Gooden-Lofgren legislation fosters competition, security and transparency to bring down the cost of swipe fees.”
According to FMI, total credit and debit card swipe fees reached $187.2 billion in 2024, with Visa- and Mastercard-branded credit card fees totaling $111.2 billion. FMI cited data showing swipe fees now average nearly $1,200 per American household.
Both NGA and FMI said they will continue advocating for passage of the Credit Card Competition Act as lawmakers consider the legislation during the current congressional session.
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