Retailers Urge State Efforts on $36 billion Credit Card Fees

The National Retail Federation today urged state legislators from across the nation to continue efforts to control $36 billion in credit card interchange fees paid by consumers each year, saying state legislation will help focus public attention on the little-known charges.

"The activities you are doing in the states to shine a light on these fees and make consumers aware of them is an important step in the right direction," NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan said. "When Visa and MasterCard take their cut, they don't take it on just the retail sale, they take it on the entire transaction including the sales tax. That's not their money. The sales tax is the people's money, and they shouldn't be trying to take a piece of it. That drives up prices even higher, and everybody ends up paying a tax on a tax."

Duncan spoke today at the National Conference of State Legislatures' Spring Conference in Washington as part of a panel discussion on credit card interchange.