ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Last Friday, senators on both sides of the aisle introduced a bill to bring competition to credit cards. This is big news for the convenience-retailing industry, but the banks and credit card industry will fight it. NACS needs help from retailers and is asking its members to contact their senators and ask them to co-sponsor the Credit Card Competition Act, S. 4674, using the NACS Grassroots Portal.

With 41-year high inflation and record gas prices, the convenience store industry has seen a staggering jump in swipe fees. This is because Visa and Mastercard dominate the credit card market without any real competition and benefit from every cent of inflation. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced bipartisan legislation last week to change that.

The Credit Card Competition Act would require that there be two competing networks enabled on a credit card. It would no longer be just Visa or just Mastercard—there would have to be a smaller, competing network enabled on the card as well. The global card brands would have no choice but to compete for a retailer’s business, similar to what happens on debit today. Retailers would then be able to make the most cost-efficient choice for their business—and it would save American consumers and businesses an estimated $11 billion per year.

Ask your senator to co-sponsor the Credit Card Competition Act, S. 4674, using the NACS Grassroots Portal. Congress must act to ensure that there is price competition on swipe fees and enable the U.S. to have an innovative and efficient credit card market.

If your senator is Sens. Marshall or Durbin, our system will automatically create a note of thanks to them for introducing this critical legislation.