Swipe Fee Reform Hearing Once Again Puts the Broken Debit Market in the Spotlight

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) issued the following statement in advance of today's scheduled hearing on swipe fee reform before the House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.

"Retailers welcome the opportunity once again to present to Congress the facts about how the broken debit market costs merchants, their customers and the economy at-large more than $20 billion every year," said Katherine Lugar, executive vice president for public affairs.  "The bipartisan reforms passed by Congress a year ago will bring fairness to a broken market that, despite increased volume and advances in technology, imposes fees on merchants three times higher today than in 2001.  These long overdue reforms will bring competition and fairness to an anticompetitive system driven by the Visa, MasterCard duopoly."  

"In passing swipe reform last year, Congress stood up for merchants and consumers. Any effort to delay or unravel these critical reforms now is an affront to retailers and consumers, and a giveaway to Visa, MasterCard and the world's biggest banks."

RILA is the trade association of the world's largest and most innovative retail companies.  RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and operate more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad.

SOURCE Retail Industry Leaders Association

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