Isabel Pavia
Texans Against Credit Card Fee Hiding is a new coalition made up of more than a dozen organizations across the state that touch a myriad of businesses.
They rallied to call on state legislators to govern the credit card industry’s fee structure and bring transparency to the industry, which they say has saved them billions of dollars in fees.
In a YouTube video introducing the coalition, Dr. Emily Williams Knight of the Texas Restaurant Association talked about how much money credit card companies make in Texas alone.
“Texans currently pay more than $10 billion each year in credit card processing fees,” Knight said. “These rates are not set in a competitive market and are intentionally hidden from consumers to prevent us from seeing or questioning them. There’s no reason to pay high swipe fees.
Sandra Havaler of the Consumers Association of Texas, speaking in the same YouTube video for the coalition, said average family expenses add up to a lot of money.
“The average family pays $1,100 to $1,700 a year because of these hidden fees,” Havaler said. “This is painful for all Texans, but especially painful for our low- and moderate-income households.Sadly, many of these households don’t even use credit cards. They’re paying the price because they’re building it into all of their pricing.”
Attorney Kelsey Erickson Streufert Chief Public Affairs Officer, Texas Restaurant Association; He commented on the huge fees consumers face every time they use plastic in their purchases.
“Visa and Mastercard control over 76% of the U.S. market,” Streufert said. “And there are 10 banks that control over 86% of the credit card issuing market. And because they control the entire market, they continue to raise prices at an incredible pace, and so far no one has We couldn’t do anything about it either.” U.S. credit card processing fees have more than doubled in the past decade, and have increased by just 50% since 2020. Therefore, we can show a direct causal relationship between the market share held by these companies and their capabilities. Raise prices for every business and every consumer in Texas.”
Texans Against Credit Card Fee Hiding are demanding competition and transparency from the Texas Legislature from the largest banks and credit card networks doing business in Texas.
For more information on Texans Against Credit Card Fee Hiding, visit TXCreditCardTruth.com.
Texans Against Credit Card Fee Hiding is comprised of the following business and consumer organizations:
Texas Restaurant Association Texas Consumers Association Texas Retailers Association Texas Food and Fuel Association National Federation of Independent Businesses Texas Travel Alliance Texas Automobile Dealers Association Texas Hotel and Lodging Association Texas Package Store Association Mid-America Theater Owners Texas Live Events Coalition Texas Nursery and Scenic Coalition
