Neighborhood grocers from throughout the nation urge Congress to rein in swipe charges that drive up grocery costs for American households
Washington, D.C. – The Nationwide Grocers Affiliation (NGA) at present concluded a profitable Fly-In for Honest Competitors, bringing impartial grocers from communities throughout the nation to Capitol Hill to press lawmakers for swift motion on the bipartisan Credit score Card Competitors Act (S.3623/H.R.7035).
Over the course of the fly-in, grocers held greater than 100 conferences with members of Congress and their workers and formally delivered a letter, signed by practically 1,700 impartial grocers nationwide, urging Congressional management to cross this essential laws.
The letter underscores the pressing pressure that escalating bank card “swipe charges” place on a high-volume, low-margin business the place internet income common simply 1–2 p.c. For impartial grocers, who function anchors of small cities, rural communities, and concrete neighborhoods, swipe charges rank among the many highest working bills, in lots of instances second solely to labor.
“Impartial grocers got here to Washington with one clear message: each greenback taken by unchecked swipe charges is a greenback that may’t be used to carry down costs for the households we serve,” stated NGA President & CEO Greg Ferrara. “Competitors has all the time been a cornerstone of American financial coverage, and the Credit score Card Competitors Act would lastly deliver that precept to a market dominated by two corporations.”
Collectively, the duopoly of Visa and Mastercard controls roughly 80 p.c of the U.S. bank card market and unilaterally units the community and interchange charges that retailers should pay. Their semiannual price will increase totaled $187.2 billion in 2024 alone, with Visa including one other $100 million in network-fee hikes earlier this 12 months. These prices fall disproportionately on small companies with little bargaining energy and are finally embedded within the worth of groceries, costing the common American household practically $1,800 per 12 months.
The Credit score Card Competitors Act presents a focused, pro-market treatment: it could require that bank cards issued by the biggest banks assist at the very least two competing networks, restoring competitors and placing downward strain on prices that drive up meals costs. The letter additionally pushed again on business claims that competitors would jeopardize card rewards, noting that rewards are funded by issuing banks reasonably than by Visa or Mastercard, and that worldwide practices, together with a decade of reform in Australia, present rewards applications have remained sturdy after related measures have been applied.
“Our members didn’t come to Washington asking for particular remedy. They got here asking Congress to use a primary American precept, competitors, to a bank card market that has none,” stated Stephanie Johnson, NGA’s senior vp and head of presidency affairs. “Passing the Credit score Card Competitors Act is the one most direct step Congress can take this 12 months to deliver down what households pay on the checkout stand, and our members made that case clearly to lawmakers at present.”
“We had productive, bipartisan conversations on each side of the Capitol, and the message we heard again is that members perceive the urgency,” Johnson continued. “The invoice is prepared, our members are unified, President Trump helps it, and the one factor standing between American households and significant swipe price reduction is a vote. We are going to maintain urgent till management places this laws on the ground.”
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Concerning the Nationwide Grocers Affiliation
NGA is the nationwide commerce affiliation representing the retail and wholesale group grocers that comprise the impartial sector of the meals distribution business. An impartial retailer is a privately owned or managed meals retail firm working quite a lot of codecs. The impartial grocery sector is accountable for about 1.2 p.c of the nation’s general economic system and is answerable for producing greater than $250 billion in gross sales, 1.1 million jobs, $39 billion in wages and $36 billion in taxes. NGA members embrace retail and wholesale grocers positioned in each congressional district throughout the nation, in addition to state grocers’ associations, producers and repair suppliers.
