Credit and debit card swipe fees reached another record high last year, totaling $187.2 billion in 2024, the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) said in a recent press release.
That’s up from $172 billion in 2023, according to the Nilson Report trade publication, and up 70% since the pandemic, according to MPC. Credit and debit card swipe fees are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor.
“As sure as the sun rises in the east, swipe fees go up each year and the credit card industry tells Congress not to believe their own eyes,” said Doug Kantor, NACS general counsel. “But even the Wall Street giants with all their money can’t cover up the truth forever. The credit card market is broken and the 70% national increase in swipe fees since the pandemic is just one more thing showing what any casual observer knows – the credit card market desperately needs reform to stop the financial pain for Main Street America and its customers.”
“With no competition to hold them in check, price-fixed swipe fees rise every year and shot up again last year,” said MPC Executive Committee Member Christine Pollack, vice president of government relations at FMI – The Food Industry Association. “As Main Street small businesses and American families continue to face economic uncertainty, the giant card networks and Wall Street banks continue to take more money out of their pockets every day.”
The fees drive up consumer prices by nearly $1,200 a year for the average family, the data found.
Swipe fees for Visa and Mastercard credit cards “dominate the industry with more than 80% of the credit card market,” MPC said. Fees from the two companies alone totaled $111.2 billion of the $187.2 billion total in 2024, up from $100 billion the previous year. “That is an increase of more than 10% in one year alone and is nearly triple what the fees were in 2014 ($39.1 billion). In total, swipe fees on all credit cards totaled $148.5 billion in 2024, up from $136 billion in 2023,” according to MPC.
The average swipe fee rate for Visa and Mastercard-branded credit cards rose to 2.35% of the transaction amount (up from 2.26% in 2023 and 2.02% in 2010). The two card networks each centrally set swipe fee rates for all banks that issue cards under their brands.
NACS has long been a supporter of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), which would inject long overdue competition in the credit card market, requiring Visa and Mastercard to compete on fees and services.
“Momentum for swipe fee reform is rapidly growing in Congress, and constituents in every district are calling on lawmakers to stand up for Main Street over Wall Street,” said Pollack.
Last week as part of the annual NACS Day on the Hill event, 164 c-store advocates held meetings with members of Congress and their staff to discuss topics to improve the industry, with the issue of swipe fees and the CCCA being a key topic of focus. This year, 37 U.S. states were represented, with attendees participating in nearly 200 meetings on Capitol Hill.