FMI Celebrates Congressional Sponsors for Reintroducing Credit Card Competition Act

Arlington, VA — Today, FMI – The Food Industry Association endorsed the reintroduced bipartisan, bicameral Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) and thanked the bill sponsors, Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), as well as Representatives Lance Gooden (R-TX) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). The legislation mandates that the nation’s largest banks enable a second network for routing credit card transactions, similar to the existing requirement for two debit networks on a card.

“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,” stated FMI’s Chief Public Policy Officer Jennifer Hatcher. 

“FMI is very appreciative of Senators Marshall and Durbin and Representatives Gooden and Lofgren for their commitment to commonsense credit card reform that provides competition, alternative routing in the event a system is down, and relief to Main Street businesses and our customers,” continued Hatcher. 

The Credit Card Competition Act introduces market-based competition to the credit card industry by requiring the nation’s large banks and one very large credit union that issue Visa- and Mastercard-branded credit cards to add an additional network for routing transactions. These routing networks would compete to be chosen as the second network by the issuing bank. At the same time, these networks would also compete to be a merchant’s preferred provider. This change would not require reissuing credit cards.

“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 of the issuing banks and credit unions in addition to themselves at a rate that often exceeds 3% while retailer profit margins sit at 1.7%. The bipartisan, bicameral Marshall-Durbin-Gooden-Lofgren legislation fosters competition, security and transparency to bring down the cost of swipe fees,” further noted Hatcher. 

Credit and debit card swipe fees in 2024 totaled $187.2 billion, according to the Nilson Report. This was an increase of 8.1% from the previous year and 70% since the beginning of the pandemic. Visa- and Mastercard-branded credit card swipe fees in 2024 totaled $111.2 billion, an increase of more than 10% in just one year and nearly triple what they were in 2014 ($39.1 billion). Swipe fees average nearly $1,200 per American household, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. 

Earlier today in a TruthSocial post, President Donald J. Trump issued his endorsement of the Credit Card Competition Act.