New bill introduced to infuse credit card industry with competition

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Senator Roger Marshall stepped behind the counter of a local Casey’s General Store recently and discussed the effects of price gouging with leaders.

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) says that on Monday, Nov. 13, he visited a Casey’s General Store in Topeka to meet with leadership and discuss the impacts of credit card swipe fees that have had a major effect on their stores. He also toured the store, met with employees, shadowed the manager and served customers behind the counter.

“Small businesses like Casey’s General Store are the backbone of the Kansas economy. Across the state, thousands of convenience stores employ nearly 20,000 Kansans. These stores generate more than $7.3 billion in sales annually, and credit card swipe fees remain one of their largest expenses,” Sen. Marshall said. “Credit card swipe fees are inflation multipliers crushing our small businesses and forcing them to raise their prices on consumers. I have legislation to alleviate the Wall Street megabanks and Visa-Mastercard price gouging tactics and inject competition into the credit card industry.”

Marshall noted that Casey’s has 190 locations in Kansas and employs more than 3,000 residents. Due to the lack of competition in the payment processing industry, the company has paid an estimated $17 million in swipe fees in 2023 alone.

“At Casey’s, we take pride in serving local communities throughout the heartland, but rapidly increasing credit card swipe fees hurt our guests and our business,” Tom Brennan, Chief Merchandising Officer of Casey’s General Stores, Inc. said. “With credit card fees rising by more than 50% just since 2020, the pressure this puts on the average family only gets worse. Something must be done and we can’t thank Senator Marshall enough for being a champion of Main Street by working to slow Wall Street’s efforts to swipe money right out of our pockets.”

Marshall said he has introduced a bipartisan bill, the Credit Card Competition Act, that would inject more competition into the market to drive down inflationary swipe fee costs that are price gouging Kansans at a rate seven times higher than those in Europe.

“All of Main Street appreciates the incredible support that Senator Roger Marshall provides every day,” Doug Kantor, General Counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores, said. “Senator Marshall’s Credit Card Competition Act is the most significant piece of legislation under consideration today to help small businesses across the nation. Credit card swipe fees multiply the effects of inflation and hit small businesses the hardest. It’s time for Congress to follow Senator Marshall’s lead and choose their constituents over Wall Street bankers.”

The Senator indicated that he had been joined by Brennan, Doug Beech, Kantor, and Senior Assistant General Counsel and Director of Government Relations.