Banking From a “SouthPark” Prospective

Another Reason Bank of America CEO, Ken Lewis Should be Fired

U.S. Retail Organizations to Merge

The National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) will merge into one trade association that cohesively represents millions of workers in the industry, reports the Baltimore Business Journal.

“This is an historic time for our industry. The challenges and opportunities before our members are unprecedented. Now is the right time to bring these associations together,” said RILA Chairman Robert Niblock, CEO of Lowe’s Co. Inc. and NRF Chairman Myron Ullman, CEO of J.C. Penney Co. Inc., in a joint statement.

The combined group, which is currently unnamed, will give members a singular and stronger voice on policy, communications, and public affairs issues in Washington, D.C.; access to events and conferences for members of both groups; focused educational and operational services for independent retailers; and a fully-integrated staff.

Both groups will undergo a due diligence process to complete the merger, which has already been approved by their executive committees. Both associations’ boards must recommend the merger, and both memberships must approve it. The groups expect the deal to be completed by the summer, says the Baltimore Business Journal, with further details to be nailed out in the coming months.

Roslyn, Va.-based RILA has 200 member companies — from Abercrombie & Fitch to Wal-Mart — and it represents more than $1.5 trillion in sales. It employs 30 people.

The Washington, D.C.-based NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association with about 2,500 members, including department, specialty, discount, catalog, Internet, independent stores, chain restaurants, drugstores, and grocery stores. It employs about 100 workers.

Rebuttal to MasterCard Canada Assertions

According to Canada NewsWire, MasterCard provided the following key points regarding interchange and debit and WayTooHigh.com replied below.

MASTERCARD CANADA: Canada has a well-functioning payments system that provides significant convenience and security to consumers and merchants. It has continued to operate effectively and drive commerce despite a global credit crisis. More than $240 billion in Canadian commerce is expedited on credit card systems annually.

WAYTOOHIGH: Nobody denies that payment cards are convenient and relatively secure. However, these benefits have nothing to do with interchange fees and do not confer upon issuing banks a blank check to extort supracompetitive profits from merchants and consumers through a hidden tax. Price-fixing is illegal!
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MASTERCARD CANADA: A merchant that processes a credit card transaction enjoys guaranteed payment even at a time of increasing consumer default rates.

WAYTOOHIGH: Merchants are not permitted by the Visa and MasterCard rules to separately negotiate for payment guarantee services. This should be a negotiable service subject to competitive forces. Merchants should have the choice of whether to purchase these services from the card networks, from a third party, or not at all. The card networks and issuing banks already include the risk of default in the interest rates they charge to consumers. There is no justification for forcing merchants to cover this cost.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: Merchants benefit from increased sales, improved payment efficiency, reduced cash handling, customer convenience and satisfaction, e-commerce facilitation, international purchase handling, automatic currency conversion and settlement, among other benefits.

WAYTOOHIGH: There are no studies supporting the assertion that card usage increases sales, reduces checkout time, or increases consumer satisfaction. These are simple advertising puffery. To the extent that some of these claims are accurate, they are neither an excuse to price-fix supracompetitiveinterchange fees nor a justifiable expense to force upon merchants without negotiation. Just look at the tricks MasterCard and Visa (both were controlled by thousands of the same member banks) They offer sweepstakes, but the less expensive PIN-based debit cards are ineligible. They charge merchants for the high-costing affinity (frequent flier reward) signature cards, but many consumers never cash in those rewards. And now, the credit card companies are taking back the accrued rewards if a cardholder defaults by a single day, some unscrupulous companies are even paying cardholders to close their accounts, thus also losing those rewards.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: Interchange is a fee that passes between acquirers (who handle card processing for merchants) and card issuers. Issuers receive interchange to compensate them for significant costs and risks borne in offering credit cards including interest-free periods, account management, credit losses, fraud protection and processing.

WAYTOOHIGH: Regarding the assertion that merchants don’t pay interchange, the rebuttal is that the merchant discount rate automatically includes the interchange fee. The rest is mere semantics. Also, why would they talk about benefits to merchants from interchange fees if merchants weren’t paying those fees? Remember: interchange fees were designed forty-years ago, when retailers used antiquated manual credit card imprinters (ScanMyPhotos.com used these way back in the early 1990’s.  The fee was cost-based; remember those stacks of carbon-copy receipts? Write a check, which passes through the Federal Reserve network and the there is no clearing (interchange) charge. Use a Starbucks gift card, and there is no interchange fee. Use a shopping mall card, good at multiple merchant locations, and there is no interchange charge. Buy a gift card for any retailer at a supermarket and even though there is a network of payment mechanisms in place, there is no interchange fee. Use a PIN-based Debit card in Canada and there is no interchange fee. Use a credit card in Iceland and… you get the idea. As to the “issuer compensation” argument, many of those expenses should be borne by the consumer, not the merchant (e.g. free funding period). Furthermore, the merchant should not be forced to purchase these alleged services as a price-fixed bundle. These should be available separately and negotiably.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: MasterCard’s Canadian interchange rates remain well below those of other developed markets including the United States and below similar fees for American Express in Canada. A sampling of other countries with higher blended interchange rates than Canada include Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland, Turkey and Uruguay.

WAYTOOHIGH: The relevant comparison is not Canada v. Uruguay, it’s competitive v. anticompetitive. The fact that MasterCard’s supracompetitive interchange rates are not quite as inflated in other countries as they are in North America doesn’t render them legal. MasterCard and Visa boast 80% market power and are two giant cartels with, until recently, the same representatives on their board of directors. Collusion, greed, illegal price-fixing and hundreds of billions of dollars paid by consumers and merchants over the years is why this battle may be the largest antitrust case in U.S. history, and why the banks are engaged in a death-spiral battle against its two core customers – consumers and merchants. 
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MASTERCARD CANADA: MasterCard receives no revenue from interchange.

WAYTOOHIGH: MasterCard remains a puppet of the issuing banks, who receive enormous amounts of revenue from interchange. How does MasterCard explain the term “Merchant Discount Rate?” So, where do their revenues come from, then?
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MASTERCARD CANADA: Consumers do not pay interchange fees nor merchant fees.

WAYTOOHIGH: As with the argument that merchants don’t pay interchange, MasterCard exalts form over substance. As a practical matter, merchants must build in their overhead costs into the costs of their products. Increasing interchange fees effectively increases the cost of goods just as would increasing the cost of the merchant’s rent or electricity.  The nearly $60 billion dollars in merchant interchange fees in the U.S. last year came from somewhere!  It is a hidden tax that ultimately, the consumers pay.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: Merchants who choose to accept credit cards pay to participate in exchange for the benefits received. The fee accounts for the multiple benefits received.

WAYTOOHIGH: The idea that merchants “choose” to accept credit cards is a myth. In reality, merchants must accept payment cards in order to stay in business. Furthermore, interchange is not cost-based. If it were, it would be far, far lower. Look at the European Union, where cross-border interchange is mandated to be cost based by law. For Ecommerce businesses, like ScanMyPhotos.com and millions of other online companies we are forced to accept Visa and MasterCard – they have an 80% market power over the industry. Their millions of dollars invested in TV commercials training consumers not to pay with cash is all the more reason why MasterCard and Visa are like drug dealers, they get consumers trained and then force them to use their products. Yes, force, and we can explain why.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: Merchants pay a merchant fee established by their acquirer, not MasterCard. Interchange forms a portion, but not all, of that merchant fee.

WAYTOOHIGH: Interchange accounts for the vast majority of the merchant discount fee and is non-negotiable. The merchant discount fee is always higher than the interchange fee, meaning that merchants effectively pay interchange. If the truth were otherwise, we’d have acquirer lawsuits against the networks and the issuers. Get real, it’s all about MasterCard. Until recently, MasterCard and Visa were just brands (trade associations) fully owned by the banks. Whether the fees go to the banks or the two giant credit card association, the same pockets were being enriched.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: MasterCard’s 2008 adjustment to interchange rates was the first in seven years. Some rates were reduced.

WAYTOOHIGH: Whether or not that’s true, it doesn’t change the fact that the rates are much higher than they would be in a competitive environment (assuming they’d exist at all). Some rates were 300% higher than in 1999. Without warning, millions of merchants receive a twice yearly letter explaining the new rates, just days prior to it taking effect.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: A merchant can obtain his MasterCard interchange rates via http://www.mastercard.ca. This information has been available for more than two years. [There is a now similar website in the U.S. with more than one-hundred pages of rate schedules].

WAYTOOHIGH: Only two years? Why was MasterCard so secretive before that? Regardless, the merchant has no way of knowing what the interchange rate will be at the time of sale and therefore cannot make an educated decision about whether to accept the card. There is no transparency, and those website rate schedules are unclear and confusing. If MasterCard was honest, they would easily post the exact interchange fee as part of every charge card receipt (right under the sales tax breakdown).
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MASTERCARD CANADA: When interchange was regulated in Australia, it led to reduced card benefits to consumers and there is no evidence that retailers passed on savings in reduced prices.

WAYTOOHIGH: To allege that a reduction in overhead costs for an entire country’s merchants would not result in lower prices is to allege a price-fixing conspiracy among all merchants. If so-called “cardholder benefits” were only available because of a price-fixing conspiracy between issuing banks, we should not lose sleep over the disappearance of those benefits when the conspiracy is busted up. The rule of law is what matters, not cardholder benefits.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: MasterCard Worldwide has a PIN-based debit payment solution – Maestro(R) – used by more than 652 million cardholders in over 100 countries.

WAYTOOHIGH: Perhaps, but that doesn’t justify the price-fixing conspiracy and it doesn’t justify forcing merchants to pay supracompetitive interchange fees. MasterCard and its issuers don’t get a blank check just because they provide some benefits. Banks would need to provide debit cards even if they didn’t get interchange fees. Otherwise, it would be like banks providing a checking account but no checks.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: MasterCard Canada is preparing to expand its global debit processing system in Canada where it would deliver compelling benefits to Canadian consumers and merchants.

WAYTOOHIGH: MasterCard is only increasing its market power so that it can continue to force supracompetitive interchange fees on merchants.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: Using Maestro, Canadian consumers could use debit all over the world.

WAYTOOHIGH: See previous two arguments.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: Accepting Maestro means Canadian merchants could accept international travelers’ debit cards.

WAYTOOHIGH: See above.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: MasterCard will provide technological advancements including greater security and fraud protections, innovations

WAYTOOHIGH: See above.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: MasterCard operates a global debit infrastructure with centralized operations that run 24/7. The system delivers significantly greater scale than Canada’s incumbent debit network. It has had zero downtime in more than seven years.

WAYTOOHIGH: See above.
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MASTERCARD CANADA: MasterCard will create competition in the Canadian debit market where it has never existed.

WAYTOOHIGH: MasterCard is not talking about competition for merchant acceptance, only “competition” for issuing banks, which has the effect of increasing interchange rates at the expense of merchants. Payment cards are a two-sided market (issuance and acceptance) and when MasterCard, Visa and the member banks talk about so-called “competition,” they’re never talking about the merchant side of the market.

Credit Card Executive Attendees at The White House

According to Reuters, this is the list of credit card industry executives expected to attend the Presidential White House meeting on Thursday, April 23rd.

• Larry Sharnak – American Express,  Executive Vice President and General Manager, Consumer Cards
• Richard Struthers – Bank of America, President, Global Card Services
• Lloyd Wirshba – Barclaycard US, Chief Executive Officer
• Ryan Schneider – Capital One Financial Corp, President of Cards
• Paul Galant – Citigroup, CEO, N.A. Cards
• David Nelms – Discover Financial Services, CEO
• Patrick Burke – HSBC Card and Retail Services, Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer
• Gordon Smith –  JPMorgan Chase & Co, CEO, Chase Card Services
• Christopher McWilton – MasterCard Worldwide, President, US Markets
• Pam Joseph – US Bancorp, Vice Chairman, Payments
• David Bohne – USAA President, USAA Savings Bank
• William Sheedy – VISA USA Inc, Global Head of Strategy
• Kevin Rhein – Wells Fargo & Co, Division President, Wells Fargo Card Services and Consumer Lending

CREDIT CARD INTERCHANGE FEE, MERCHANT-DISCOUNT ANTITRUST LITIGATION CLASS ACTION COMPLAINT

Click here to view the consolidated complaint.

TWITTER: Follow @WayTooHigh Recent “Tweets”

WayTooHigh

1. Credit Executives Are Summoned To White House (via Nancy Trejos and Binyamin Appelbaum Washington Post) http://ow.ly/366Pabout 2 hours ago from HootSuite
       

2. Congress is trying to rein in other abusive credit card fees, but if they don’t address interchange, they’ll miss the biggest threat of allabout 5 hours ago from HootSuite
       

3. $2,100,000,000 Earned in JUST the 1st Q by JP Morgan Chase. How much derived from antiquated credit card interchange fees? http://ow.ly/33hmabout 5 hours ago from HootSuite
       

4. Q: Why hasn’t MasterCard, Visa, Chase, CitiGroup, BofA, etc… not been shut down for collusion and credit card price-gouging. A: Dunnoabout 6 hours ago from HootSuite
       

5. Inside The Campaign To Oust Bank of America’s Ken Lewis: Video – http://ow.ly/3d2fabout 7 hours ago from HootSuite
       

6. Look out: Credit cards unleash big rate hikes http://ow.ly/3d2Habout 7 hours ago from HootSuite
       

7. If mortgage rates continue to decline, interest rates being lowered, why are Visa and MasterCard’s credit card interchange fees soaring?about 7 hours ago from HootSuite
       

8. You know it’s a good day for consumers and retailers when Visa publicly expresses extreme disappointment: http://ow.ly/2DdOabout 8 hours ago from HootSuite
       

9. White House calls in credit card industry – http://ow.ly/3c5dabout 9 hours ago from HootSuite
       

10. Dow ends best 6 weeks since 1938 on econ hopes –about 12 hours ago from HootSuite
        

11. In another gesture to vulnerable consumers, the House and Senate could take up a credit card bill of rights bill. – http://ow.ly/3c53about 12 hours ago from HootSuite
        

12. Question for merchants: Credit card processing fees are too high because? Tweet your experience with interchange fees @wayTooHighabout 12 hours ago from HootSuite
        

13. Encouraging Credit Card Holders to Leave Should Result in Interchange Fee Refunds – http://ow.ly/3c3kabout 12 hours ago from HootSuite
        

14. RT @katbuilder: Fight back with banks on charging high bank fees!!about 12 hours ago from HootSuite
        

15. This Merchants Payments Coalition / UnfairCreditCardFees.com video explains why MasterCard and Visa are the new enemies http://ow.ly/2BH8about 14 hours ago from HootSuite
        

16. Visa / MasterCard’s long history of anticomptitive price-fixing corrupts smart biz thinking; the marketplace should control competition8:10 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

17. Some Bank of America credit card rates increasing: What you can do http://tinyurl.com/cm43o45:20 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

18. Q: How can banks (MasterCard / Visa) cite “competitive pressures” regarding need for soaring credit card rates? They own the Monopoly board!4:31 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

19. TARP-fed Banks Face Scrutiny on Credit Card Interest, Fees (USBanker) http://ow.ly/390O4:29 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

20. For balance, to represent the millions of merchants (consumers) at the White House credit card meeting consider inviting Mitch Goldstone4:03 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

21. We will be Tweeting non-stop on planned White House meeting on Thurs w/ credit card execs and URGE INTERCHANGE DISCUSSION http://ow.ly/38Q13:59 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

22. Peter Barnes, Senior Washington Correspondent at FOXBusiness reports on White House / credit card banking exec meeting – http://ow.ly/38Pt3:56 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

23. 4 Karey Wutkowski,Patrick Rucker at Reuters NOTE: Any White House meeting with credit card cos MUST discuss interchange = $60bln annual fee3:49 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

24. White House to meet with credit card execs-sources (Reuters) http://ow.ly/38Oi3:47 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

25. Dow ends best 6 weeks since 1938 on econonic hopes3:36 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

26. MasterCard increased its network access and brand usage fee from 0.5 cents per transaction to 1.85 cents, a 270% increase http://ow.ly/2LYl3:35 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

27. Companies encourage cell phone recycling as Earth Day approaches (only 10% of cell phones were recycled on ’07) http://ow.ly/2VOG3:25 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

28. Barclays Bank exclusive VISA Black card for THREE mln consumers = tool designed to generate HIGHER interchange fees http://ow.ly/2FAg2:50 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

29. Why merchants & consumers aren’t Tweeting, blogging support for Visa, MasterCard & bank credit card Interchange fees: http://ow.ly/2sjT2:50 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

30. Other credit card fee reforms are necessary, but don’t forget about the ~$60,000,000,000 interchange tax on businesses / consumers2:25 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

31. Did Visa and MasterCard create a non-competitive environment in which businesses cannot negotiate for lower interchange rates? #credit1:40 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

32. “A Quiet Windfall For U.S. Banks” (via Washington Post, Amit R. Paley) – http://ow.ly/2Gjq1:15 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

33. The credit card interchange fee is the biggest hidden tax (~$60 bln) you’ve never head of, until now: http://ow.ly/2XC712:50 PM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

34. Credit card companies are squeezing consumers in ways big and small – http://ow.ly/2R1o (consumer action)11:55 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

35. This Merchants Payments Coalition / UnfairCreditCardFees.com video explains why MasterCard and Visa are the new enemies http://ow.ly/2lwa11:40 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

36. RT @EFFIE325: @EVERYONE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES SHOULD BE GIVING PEOPLE SOME TYPE OF RELIEF INSTEAD OF RUINING THEM WRITE TO CONGRESS!10:53 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

37. RT @JeffCole53: …credit card companies are like crack dealers, they ruin people’s lives, and then want to sell them even more of the drug10:53 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

38. Avg. American household paid $427 in credit card interchange fees last year. Total interchange fee revenues have tripled since 2001.9:35 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

39. RT @geidas In addition to all the other fees, credit card banks charge merchants a 2% transaction fee on every purchase http://htxt.it/HTAW9:00 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

40. Anatomy of How Technology Should Reduce MasterCard and Visa’s Member Banks’ Credit Card interchange Fees – http://ow.ly/2HrO #congress #bank8:10 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

41. Congress can’t fix the financial services industry without reforming huge, hidden credit card interchange fees. #banking #congress8:05 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

42. “Pres Obama campaigned on credit card reforms, Fed ruled that their practices are unfair and deceptive” – http://ow.ly/368t (WashPost)7:53 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

43. Credit Executives Are Summoned To White House (via Nancy Trejos and Binyamin Appelbaum Washington Post) http://ow.ly/366N7:45 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

44. Retailers are waging a no-holds barred campaign seeking government regulation of card acceptance fees and interchange. http://ow.ly/2TnY7:45 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

45. Congress can’t fix the financial services industry without reforming huge, hidden Visa / MasterCard, member banks’ interchange fees7:45 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

46. Credit Card Execs Summoned to White House Meeting Next Thursday7:40 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

47. in 2008, Americans paid twice as much in interchange fees than in credit card late fees and three times ATM fees!7:30 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

48. Citigroup revenues neraly doubled to $24.79 billion in JUST the 1st Q. How much was derived from excessive credit card interchange fees?7:19 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

49. Merchant interchange fees cover reward points for credit cards; when banks force cardholders to close accounts, NO REFUND of paid rewards7:00 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

50. Merchants (consumers) are paying the interchange credit card fees, which includes funding reward points, but banks keep when accounts closed6:55 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

51. Financial Services Committee Chair, Barney Frank said curbs on credit-card “abuses” are among his panel’s priorities. http://ow.ly/2XAx6:50 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

52. More Reasons to Worry About Credit Card Companies (Morgan Housel, Motley Fool) http://ow.ly/2MsJ5:30 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

53. Retailers across the nation are calling for interchange independence UnfairCreditCardFees.com5:05 AM Apr 17th from HootSuite
        

54. innovations in electronic payments should increase effeciencies and lower fees, that’s how non-monopoly cartels work9:30 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

55. Ecommerce companies, like ScanMyPhotos.com and millions of others are forced to accept Visa and MaterCard; they wield 80% market power.5:50 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

56. Convenience store owners call for card-fee action http://ow.ly/33jT5:04 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

57. U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) introduced a bill in the last Congress to prohibit these unfair credit card rules http://ow.ly/33j24:57 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

58. Undue profiteering’s in the (credit) cards (via Sean Flynn, Boston Herald) – #banking #mastercard #visa – http://ow.ly/33iM4:55 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

59. Can’t fix the economy and help small businesses without addressing the banks anticompetitive credit card interchange fees4:52 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

60. RT @jesserz: JP Morgan Chase…making billions while people lose jobs. Justice prevails!4:46 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

61. $2,100,000,000 Earned in JUST the 1st Q by JP Morgan Chase. How much derived from antiquated credit card interchange fees? http://ow.ly/33ha4:44 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

62. JP Morgan Chase, named defendant in our merchant antitrust class-action lawsuit against credit card cos reports 1st Q earnings $2.1 bln4:42 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

63. JP Morgan Chase – Earnings. Video (Bloomberg) http://ow.ly/33gG4:40 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

64. RT @krishutchinson: Wells fargo card activator just hung up on me because I wouldn’t join the credit protection program….4:37 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

65. RT @bostongal48: @waytoohigh EVERYTHING IS WAYTOO HIGH4:36 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

66. Merchants: Socked by Credit Card Fees They Can’t See http://ow.ly/2M1E. Follow along on our 4-year blog: http://www.WayTooHigh.com3:55 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

67. Using Twitter as forum to humanize and as advocacy channel in battle against Visa, MasterCard credit card fees #banks #credit WayTooHigh.com3:45 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

68. Visa and MasterCard’s fees MUST be stopped. Now that the U.S. Taxpapers own banks, interchange should disappear3:40 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

69. Visa and MasterCard, two ‘competitors’ announce price increases of nearly 300 percent at the same time in a recession? – http://ow.ly/2LYH3:35 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

70. NY Times: Small-Business Owners Lobby to Cut Credit Card Fees – http://ow.ly/2GqM #MasterCard #Visa #banking #credit1:45 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

71. Global economic recession worst since Great Depression, yet, banking credit card interchange fees still rising http://ow.ly/2Dl91:40 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

72. Little transparency for interchange fees that banks pay each other for each credit, debit card and ATM transaction made by customers.1:35 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

73. “Small-Business Owners Lobby to Cut Credit Card Fees” 9via New York Times, by JANE BIRNBAUM) http://ow.ly/2GkF1:20 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

74. “The Credit Card Fee That Will Fleece You,” cost of using charge cards overseas could add 5% to your purchase – http://ow.ly/2GhW1:05 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

75. Homeowners taking advantage of record-low mortgages, consumers benefit from lower interest rates, BUT, INTERCHANGE FEES AT RECORD LEVEL12:16 PM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

76. More info visit WayTooHigh.com – the credit card interchange report Lead plaintiff, ScanMyPhotos.com has 4+ yrs of data http://ow.ly/32pQ11:37 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

77. Seeking transparancy of Visa asnd MasterCard interchange rates. There is transparacy in Europe and AUS.11:36 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

78. Rules by Visa and MasterCard are more than 1700 PAGES. Can’t discount for cash, can’t surcharge. can’t print out on receipt the fees11:35 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

79. Tweeting on local and national small business leaders discussing the looming threat to economy by hidden credit card fees – interchange11:35 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

80. Fighting interchange fees as Visa and Mastercard continue to raise credit card merchant interchange fees payment expense up 800+% since 199511:32 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

81. Seeing D.C. support. Petro industry had $3.4 bln in profits last year. $7.6 bln in credit card fees.11:31 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

82. One PA family business saw $4.6 mln in credit card fees, $1.0 mln more than prior year. Fed Up with Visa and MasterCard11:30 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

83. Impact of uncontrolled crdit card fees on supermarkets and Main Street is devistating. Retailers are “madder than hell” at credit card cos.11:28 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

84. Interchange is a nationwide proble,. Supermarkets after tax profit is about 1-2%, thus LESS THAN COST FOR CREDIT CARD FEES = LOSS11:28 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

85. PA state wide trade assn is talking. Own about 6,000 stores in PA. Over past 5 years, members said interchaneg is fastest growing TAX11:27 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

86. POLAND ABOLISHED INTERCHANGE FEES. EU rate is about 0.30%. U.S. about 2.0% for credit card merchant interchange fees11:26 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

87. ONLY ABOUT 13% is used to cover COST OF INTERCHANGE electronic payment fees. U.S. pays HIGHEST RATE in WORLD11:26 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

88. Use your debit card with rewards benefit yields HIGHER INTERCHANGE FEES.11:25 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

89. WHEN YOU PAY CASH, low interchange fee card, FOOD STAMPS, CHECKS, cover high reward cards (signature affinity cards)11:25 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

90. When you write a check. NO INTERCHANGE FEE. Mercjhant, however only gets ~98% back from credit card fees11:24 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

91. CONSUMERS don’t know about interchange fees. About 2% per transactions. [about 100 separate rates].11:23 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

92. FIGHT against unfair credit card fees. Seeking legislative action. Credit card interchange fees HIDDEN.11:23 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

93. Taylor West intro: Lyle Beckwith, National Assn Convienence Stores (NACS) representing retailers nationwide11:22 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

94. Stand by for live Tweeting from NEWS CONFERENCE [ Pennsylvania Retailers Urge Rep. Gerlach to Take Action] #Mastercard #Visa #banking11:18 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

95. Retailers are pushing Congress to challenge the credit card industry’s little-known “interchange” fees, http://ow.ly/31Gn10:35 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

96. Apple is about to sell its 1 billionth iPhone app, but think of all those micro-payment credit card interchange fees on 99-cent orders!10:35 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

97. MasterCard, Visa and other bank card customers paid $14.6 billion in 2008 just in penalties http://ow.ly/2ODF10:20 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

98. @WayTooHigh will be Tweeting LIVE from today’s press event. #MasterCard #Visa #banking #charge #credit card #interchange #bank fees10:15 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

99. 11:15 (PDT). Today, April 16 at 2:15pm – Pennsylvania Retailers Urge Rep. Gerlach to Take Action http://ow.ly/324j9:50 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
        

100. Telephone Press Conference Calling on Rep. Gerlach to Stand with Pennsylvania Consumers and Small Businesses – Credit Card Fees9:49 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

101. Unfair and anti-competitive interchange fees are crippling businesses http://ow.ly/323J9:48 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

102. Local and national small business leaders will host a conference call with state reporters to discuss hidden credit card fees; interchange.9:47 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

103. Telephonic Press Conference, Thursday, April 16th, at 2:15 PM Eastern Dial-in number: 800-895-0198, Passcode: PENN**** http://ow.ly/323m9:46 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

104. It’s not often that the credit card industry faces a defeat in D.C. until now, watch video http://ow.ly/2FLz #charge #banks #TARP #antitrust9:45 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

105. Local Retailers Ask Rep. Gerlach to Stand With Them, Rein in Fees That Hurt Pennsylvania Consumers, Small Businesses http://ow.ly/323j9:45 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

106. RT @geidas: @WayTooHigh I’m doing a story on the fees. Dan Kelly, Reading Eagle, PA, can you contact me at dkelly@readingeagle.com.9:30 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

107. Growing List of Reasons to Lower and End Interchange Fees http://ow.ly/2DmH8:55 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

108. @WayTooHigh edited by Mitch Goldstone, pres & CEO, ScanMyPhotos.com. Blog launched in ’05 http://www.WayTooHigh.com http://ow.ly/2MeJ8:45 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

109. – Retailers cry foul on credit card fees http://ow.ly/31Gc –8:24 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

110. Bailed-Out Banks Face Probe Over Fee Hikes – MSNBC http://ow.ly/2Me27:40 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

111. retailers under intense pressure, interchange fees = credit card cos charge retailers every time a charge card is used http://ow.ly/2nWG7:05 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

112. Q: Why hasn’t MasterCard, Visa, Chase, CitiGroup, BofA, etc… not been shut down for collusion and credit card price-gouging. A: Dunno7:00 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

113. RT @marktzk: USAir is unilaterally canceling my BofA Visa miles card and issuing a Barclay’s Mastercard instead. Looking for a new card now6:32 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

114. Credit card-banking lobbyists, Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Visa, Mastercard et al won’t like this: http://ow.ly/2M2T5:05 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

115. What’s wrong with credit card companies’ argument for higher interchange fees to fund frequent flyer rewards http://ow.ly/2MkU2:20 AM Apr 16th from HootSuite
         

116. RT @geidas In addition to all the other fees, credit card banks charge merchants a 2% transaction fee on every purchase http://htxt.it/HTAW8:50 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

117. Take a second to help out WayTooHigh! Vote for them on Twibs at http://tinyurl.com/dldx7v8:38 PM Apr 15th from web
         

118. Did you know that there are no electronic payment merchant interchange fees for check clearing?6:40 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

119. RT @NiamhD: I really hate when you check your bank account and the back have taken notified fees that you weren’t notified about…4:50 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

120. RT @crunchysue: @jnpdx The government is run by credit card companies, and is not trying to get us out of debt at all.4:28 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

121. RT @EFFIE325: @EVERYONE I’M ANGRY AT CREDIT CARD COMPANIES…THEY ARE RUINING ARE SCORES BY REDUCING OUR LIMITS PEOPLE COMPLAIN TO CONGRESS4:27 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

122. RT @SeanMiller: Does anyone else hate Bank of America? 8 Overdraft Fees? Now I’ve been on hold all morning. Sweet.4:26 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

123. @debs2005 – Like milions of retailers, ScanMyPhotos.com is forced to accept Visa and MasterCard (80% market power) 100% online biz is cc.4:25 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite in reply to debs2005
         

124. Question for retailers: Credit card processing fees are too high because? Tweet your experience with interchange fees @wayTooHigh4:22 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

125. We’re a real company that is fed up with credit card fees; behind the scenes at ScanMyPhotos.com. – http://ow.ly/2YDi4:18 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

126. Banks Hike Fees Despite Bailout Billions; Consumers and Congressional Panel Ask Why #mastercard #visa http://ow.ly/2M0U3:50 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

127. Credit Card, Bank Fee Hikes Spark Outrage (ALICE GOMSTYN, ABC NEWS Business Unit) http://ow.ly/2M0G3:50 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

128. NACS: New Credit Card Fees ‘Beyond Outrageous’ (National Association of Convenience Stores) http://ow.ly/2LY73:35 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

129. AARP Magazine: Protect Your Priceless Photos – Let a scanning company digitize your pics. It’s cheap and easy as can be – http://ow.ly/2YoL3:28 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

130. in 2008, Americans paid twice as much in interchange fees than in credit card late fees and three times ATM fees!2:55 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

131. “No rhyme or reason to credit card fees” [via Stephen Campbell, New Brunswick Business Journal] http://ow.ly/2Dk52:40 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

132. Watch What Congress Needs to Know About Interchange Fees (via http://www.UnfairCreditCard…) http://ow.ly/2Gpj #banking1:30 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

133. Where are the Pro-Interchange Fee Bloggers and Tweets? http://ow.ly/2GnF #charge #retail #economy1:25 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

134. Annual hidden credit card interchange tax on American consumers has skyrocketed from $25 billion to nearly $62 billion http://ow.ly/2Gkg1:20 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

135. good days for consumers and retailers when Visa publicly expresses extreme disappointment: http://ow.ly/2nKe1:20 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

136. with signs of global economic metldown, how are Visa, MasterCard, banks maintaining soaring merchant interchange fees? http://ow.ly/2GiE1:15 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

137. Visa Inc. Warns of Multiple Threats to F’09, Among the many risks = penalties related to litigation settlements http://ow.ly/2Gi91:10 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

138. Financial Services Committee Chair, Barney Frank said curbs on credit-card “abuses” are among his panel’s priorities. http://ow.ly/2XA312:36 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

139. Chris Dodd, chair, Senate Banking Committee, said banks were using lax rules to “gouge” customers http://ow.ly/2Xy112:34 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

140. Bank of America to Raise Fee on Credit-Card Transfers [Bloomberg, By David Mildenberg] http://ow.ly/2Xxl12:33 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

141. Credit Card Interchange Fees: Issues and Answers (Merchants Payments Coalition)12:27 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

142. About the Merchants Payments Coalition – http://ow.ly/2XqV12:13 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

143. Happy that credit card interchange issue is being noticed by Chris Dodd and D.C. helps establish his independence from banking industry12:08 PM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

144. RT @ThreeDegrees: I hate bank fees. #hate #bank11:55 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

145. Outrageous interchange fees cost Americans $2 for every $100 they spend – whether or not they use a credit card – http://ow.ly/2zQz11:00 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

146. RT @siriuslyheather: Damnit, how I hate bank fees! :((((((((((((9:50 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

147. The credit card interchange fee is the biggest hidden tax (~$60 bln) you’ve never head of, until now: http://ow.ly/2tDX9:20 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

148. Did you Know: The actual cost to transact an electronic payment is a tiny fraction of the total fees collected8:40 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

149. The credit card interchange fee = biggest tax you’ve never heard of. Nearly $2 of every $100 charged goes directly to credit card industry8:30 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

150. RT @highking1979: Credit Card companies have no business receiving bailout funds. They charge enough.7:07 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

151. Merchant interchange fees cover reward points for credit cards; when banks force cardholders to close accounts, NO REFUND of paid rewards6:50 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

152. Rescued Banks Not Passing the Bailout Onto Customers who face steep increases in rates (avg CC int rate up 12.4% – http://ow.ly/2VE36:48 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

153. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing if Bank of America Corp violated federal securities law http://ow.ly/2OBg6:10 AM Apr 15th from HootSuite
         

154. This is the top ranked link from @WayTooHigh mastercard and Visa Tweets: http://ow.ly/2M3510:05 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

155. RT @Whynatte: The US Airways flight attendant literally spent 15 minutes trying to sell a VISA card to passengers over loudspeaker.7:37 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

156. Retailers are waging a no-holds barred campaign seeking government regulation of card acceptance fees and interchange. http://ow.ly/2TnX7:34 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

157. RT @SuziB777 So they are saying the economy is coming back please tell my bus. bank account isn’t seeing any comebacks,,,, higher more fees7:29 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

158. RT @LotsaNews: [CNN][ Bank fees on the rise: CNN’s Mary Snow reports on growing anger over rising interest ra.. http://tinyurl.com/dkzd9c7:27 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

159. RT @DebtLawyer: Credit card companies are inclined to settle with card holders who are experiencing a genuine financial hardship.6:50 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

160. Barclays Bank exclusive VISA Black card for THREE mln consumers = tool designed to generate HIGHER interchange fees http://ow.ly/2FLj5:45 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

161. It’s not often that the credit card industry faces a defeat in D.C. until now, watch video http://ow.ly/2lw55:40 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

162. You know it’s a good day for consumers and retailers when Visa publicly expresses extreme disappointment: http://ow.ly/2DdJ5:30 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

163. not often that the credit card industry faces a defeat in D.C. until now, watch video http://ow.ly/2nKR4:20 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

164. Thanks to Twitter, retailers and consumers have instant updates in the war against Credit Card Cos; Visa, MasterCard and its member banks3:42 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

165. When Visa and MasterCard began, there wasn’t Twitter to provide instant updates on their anticompetitive price-fixing.3:40 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

166. Credit Card Companies Pushing Back Against Udall’s Reform Bill http://ow.ly/2SkX3:40 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

167. RT @ms_elyse: just watched this documentary on Showtime called Maxed Out about credit card companies and debt. Everyone should watch it3:37 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

168. RT @mikearama: @waytoohigh Credit card companies broken contracts http://tiny.cc/O57LE #credit #creditcards3:36 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

169. Capital One hiked customer rates that it once had guaranteed would forever remain at 4.9% fixed to 17.9% variable – http://ow.ly/2R1C2:55 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

170. in 2008, Americans paid twice as much in interchange fees than in credit card late fees and three times ATM fees!2:30 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

171. The credit card interchange fee = biggest tax you’ve never heard of. Nearly $2 of every $100 charged goes directly to credit card industry2:30 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

172. Merchants (consumers) are paying the interchange credit card fees, which includes funding reward points, but banks keep when accounts closed1:55 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

173. MasterCard: The Most Absurd Statement in the History of the Credit Card Industry? http://ow.ly/2Gnb #retail #ecommerce #banking1:25 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

174. Economic Crisis has no Pricing Impact on Interchange Fees #mastercard #visa #charge #bank http://ow.ly/2Gin1:10 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

175. If you’re a retailer paying credit card merchant interchange fees watch MAXED OUT – NOW ON DVD http://ow.ly/2GhB1:00 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

176. This Merchants Payments Coalition / UnfairCreditCardFees.com video explains why MasterCard and Visa are the new enemies http://ow.ly/2i3C12:20 PM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

177. Credit card companies are squeezing consumers in ways big and small – http://ow.ly/2R1a (consumer action)11:44 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

178. More college students run up credit card debt for tuition, books http://ow.ly/2R0N11:42 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

179. Mitch Goldstone, president & CEO, ScanMyPhotos.com (editor WayTooHigh.com) on Fox News (Jan 19) http://bit.ly/uYLAP11:05 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

180. “Visa, MasterCard, who continue to add on fees and rules… Stand Up to Big Banks, Fix Credit Card Interchange Fees!” http://ow.ly/2zQh10:55 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

181. Web100.com selected ScanMyPhotos.com (#16) for the Photo 100 list of the web’s best photography sites: http://ow.ly/2Oon10:05 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

182. RT @briana9: I hate Bank of America. 5 overdraft fees of $35/each in one day should not be legal!9:50 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

183. Merchants (consumers) pay interchange credit card fees, includes funding reward pts, but banks keep when accounts closed http://ow.ly/2FAp8:50 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

184. Barclays Bank exclusive VISA Black card for THREE mln consumers = tool designed to generate HIGHER interchange fees http://ow.ly/2FAf8:50 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

185. What exactly does “Interchange” credit card fees mean? – http://ow.ly/2Ahd8:40 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

186. Credit card-banking lobbyists, Bank of America, Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Visa, Mastercard et al won’t like this: http://ow.ly/2D8Z8:20 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

187. RT @Denrael: Growing List of Reasons to Lower and End Interchange Fees http://ow.ly/2DmF (via @WayTooHigh)8:19 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

188. RT @mcmilker: @WayTooHigh Thx for the retweet on banks!8:19 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

189. RT @MortTwain: @WayTooHigh I just watched this video outlining credit card company abuses. Everybody should see it! Sharpen your pitchforks8:18 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

190. This Merchants Payments Coalition / UnfairCreditCardFees.com video explains why MasterCard and Visa are the new enemies http://ow.ly/2BH48:15 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

191. SEC reviewing if Bank of America violated federal securities law http://ow.ly/2OBb8:10 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

192. Congress can’t fix the financial services industry without reforming huge, hidden credit card interchange fees. #banking #congress8:05 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

193. Credit card companies won’t like this: http://ow.ly/2M2S7:05 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

194. Congress can’t fix the financial services industry without reforming huge, hidden Visa / MasterCard, member banks’ interchange fees6:45 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

195. DOUBLE TAXATION: MasterCard and Visa gift cards charge purchase fees ~$5.95 plus merchant pays interchange fees6:20 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

196. MasterCard, Visa and other bank card customers paid $14.6 billion in 2008 just in penalties http://ow.ly/2ODr5:07 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

197. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing if Bank of America Corp violated federal securities law http://ow.ly/2OB24:59 AM Apr 14th from HootSuite
         

198. Are Visa and MasterCard illegally fixing the fees charged to merchants who accept their cards? #banking #credit11:35 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

199. Did Visa and MasterCard create a non-competitive environment in which businesses cannot negotiate for lower interchange rates? #credit9:40 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

200. More bad news for MasterCard, Visa and the banking industry: Minnesota court ruled in favor of Al Franken in his 2008 Senate race9:20 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

201. NY Times: Small-Business Owners Lobby to Cut Credit Card Fees – http://ow.ly/2GqC #MasterCard #Visa #banking #credit8:45 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

202. This is the top ranked link from @WayTooHigh mastercard and Visa Tweets: http://ow.ly/2M348:05 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

203. “Massive cuts in idle consumer credit lines could equal hell for credit card processors like Visa and MasterCard” http://ow.ly/2Mt36:30 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

204. RT @thewuzz: i hate banks and stupid bank fees5:50 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

205. Growing List of Reasons to Lower and End Interchange Fees http://ow.ly/2DmF5:50 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

206. MasterCard increased its network access and brand usage fee from 0.5 cents per transaction to 1.85 cents, a 270% increase http://ow.ly/2LYg5:35 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

207. Non interchange. win 1 for the entrepreneur, ScanMyPhotos.com named #16 – Web100.com Top 100 photography-themed websites http://ow.ly/2MxZ5:27 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

208. “two-pronged battle sucking the life out of the credit card industry” http://ow.ly/2MtO5:23 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

209. More Reasons to Worry About Credit Card Companies (Morgan Housel, Motley Fool) http://ow.ly/2Mst5:20 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

210. Congratulations to United States Senator-elect Al Franken5:14 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

211. Good bye credit card Interchange Fees!!! Court ruled in favor of Al Franken, one less (R) Senator5:12 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

212. More bad news for MasterCard, Visa and the banking industry: Minnesota court ruled in favor of Al Franken in his 2008 Senate race5:10 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

213. Breaking News: Franken Declared Leading Vote-Getter in Minn. Senate Race5:09 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

214. What’s wrong with credit card companies’ argument for higher interchange fees to fund frequent flyer rewards http://ow.ly/2Mku5:07 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

215. @WayTooHigh edited by Mitch Goldstone, pres & CEO, ScanMyPhotos.com. Blog launched in ’05 http://www.WayTooHigh.com http://ow.ly/2MeD4:35 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

216. Visa and MasterCard, two ‘competitors’ announce price increases of nearly 300 percent at the same time in a recession? – http://ow.ly/2LYx4:35 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

217. Are Bank of America and Citicorp planning another fee hike and trying to get it done before the new legislation? Is it retroactive?4:30 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

218. Bailed-Out Banks Face Probe Over Fee Hikes – MSNBC http://ow.ly/2MdY4:28 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

219. Visa, MasterCard credit card interchange fees are excessive and abusive, but their 80% market power = don’t care4:05 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

220. Visa and MasterCard’s fees MUST be stopped. Now that the U.S. Taxpapers own banks, interchange should disappear3:50 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

221. Did you know, when you use your debit Pin-based card as a credit card, your funds are removed just as fast, and retailers pay MORE3:50 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

222. Q: Why hasn’t MasterCard, Visa, Chase, CitiGroup, BofA, etc… not been shut down for collusion and credit card price-gouging. A: Dunno3:46 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

223. Merchants: Socked by Credit Card Fees They Can’t See http://ow.ly/2M1C. Follow along on our 4-year blog: http://www.WayTooHigh.com3:44 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

224. Merchants: New Yorkers Socked by Credit Card Fees They Can’t See http://ow.ly/2M1u3:43 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

225. complaints about bank fee spikes have prompted the Congressional Oversight Panel to launch a probe into the issue.3:40 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

226. Banks Hike Fees Despite Bailout Billions; Consumers and Congressional Panel Ask Why #mastercard #visa http://ow.ly/2M0S3:39 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

227. Credit Card, Bank Fee Hikes Spark Outrage (ALICE GOMSTYN, ABC NEWS Business Unit) http://ow.ly/2M0y @WayTooHigh3:38 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

228. RT @MuchMoreThanMom: RT @tommytrc BoA Hikes Rates On Millions Of Credit Card Customers [Bank Of America] http://tinyurl.com/dkp5oe3:35 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

229. RT @loupnoir: Rt @CReporter RT @consumersunion: BofA coy about how many got letter re big credit card rate increase. http://bit.ly/3GNfqF3:34 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

230. Using Twitter as forum to humanize and as advocacy channel in battle against Visa, MasterCard credit card fees #banks #credit WayTooHigh.com3:31 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

231. innovations in electronic payments should increase effeciencies and lower fees, that’s how non-monopoly cartels work3:30 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

232. NACS: New Credit Card Fees ‘Beyond Outrageous’ (National Association of Convenience Stores) http://ow.ly/2LY23:21 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

233. U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd, @SenChrisDodd, U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is following @WayTooHigh3:15 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

234. David Buckner faints on Glenn Beck’s show – Fox Network News – Watch video. JUST IN… http://ow.ly/2LRi3:11 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

235. Banks are like drug dealers – they can’t resist Interchange profiteering; leading to billions in toxic creditcard debt : U.S. is bailing out2:40 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

236. Avg. American household paid $427 in credit card interchange fees last year. Total interchange fee revenues have tripled since 2001.2:35 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

237. Chase added a $10 monthly fee and increased the minimum payment from 2% to 5% for those who carry a large balance.2:35 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

238. Other credit card fee reforms are necessary, but don’t forget about the ~$60,000,000,000 interchange tax on businesses / consumers2:25 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite
         

239. “A Quiet Windfall For U.S. Banks” (via Washington Post, Amit R. Paley) – http://ow.ly/2Gjk #credit #banks #mastercard #visa1:15 PM Apr 13th from HootSuite

 

Why Credit Card Companies Full of Hot Air

 

A leading argument to sustain soaring merchant interchange credit card fees is to cover the cost of affinity reward programs.  The banks were passing along the frequent flyer reward costs to merchants, and thus consumers, who are the ones buying the merchandise.

Now that millions of cardholders are losing their accounts, those rewards are being terminated as well.  When a cardholder is delinquent on their credit card bills by even a day, they risk losing all their accumulated reward points as well.

Well, what is it?  If interchange fees are lowered, Visa and MasterCard’s argument is that consumers will have to pay higher fees. As it is, the banks are already raising rates, closing accounts and changing the terms with wanton disregard for their customers.

Where are the Pro-Interchange Fee Bloggers and Tweets?

In baseball, it is easy to keep score – look at the scoreboard.  In politics – read the polls.  But, for interchange fees, run by the banking cartel, there is little notice, other than those bi-annual fee “adjustment” letters.   As retailers continue battling against MasterCard and Visa – the two leading credit card associations with 80% market power and its member banks, it is also easy to keep score.

With nearly 1,300 postings on WayTooHigh.com– The Credit Card Interchange Report, we have yet to read any pro-interchange fee blogs that weren’t connected with the banking industry and their paid advocacy firms.  

Well, there is always that one “pro consumer,” “pro competition” group that “enjoys the financial support of Visa,” but that really shouldn’t count.  Where are the merchants championing 1.7% interchange fee rates, and challenging WayTooHigh.com?

Where are the U.S. retailers thanking Visa® and MasterCard® for charging among the highest rates in the world, while abroad, the interchange fees are 0.7%, 0.5% and even 0.0% – there are no interchange fee for debit PIN-based cards in Canada.

The reason for such silence?

Merchants understand they are being taken on a ride when cardholders present their affinity frequent flyer cards. The merchants, and thus the consumers are paying for these perks and the nearly $40 billion a year in interchange fees. Since we were the first to launch the merchant interchange litigation back in mid-2005, there have been no pro-interchange fee blogs that we are familiar with. That speaks volumes about our cause and the unfair fees.

Edited by Mitch Goldstone, president and CEO – ScanMyPhotos.com

Follow along on Twitter – Twitter.com/WayTooHigh

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Another Argument For Zero Interchange Fees: Gift Cards

Have you noticed the growing prominence of gift card kiosks filling up the end caps at many supermarkets and other retail locations?   You can purchase gift cards for a variety of products, restaurants, attractions and unrelated shopping experiences. 

 

Here is how gift cards work when you buy it at a supermarket or other large retailer:

 

You choose the value and brand, then their sales clerk rings up your order and validates the electronic payment card.   Think of all the payment networks that are involved?  There is an acquiring and issuing institution as the supermarket transaction is processed by a third party that pays the company issuing the card.  There are added costs to print, merchandise and process the transactions.  Yet, there are no added fees, unlike if you select a Visa or MasterCard branded gift card, where you pay an upfront fee of about $4.99 or higher, plus being forced to pay a monthly charge for non-use and other fees; think of Ticketmaster and all their extra charges.

 

The difference between the store electronic gift cards and those branded by Visa and MasterCard are they are without standard interchange fees.  Those store-branded plastic gift cards are being transacted through an electronic payment network, but also without a monthly “maintenance” fee that Visa and MasterCard can separately impose.

  

Also absent are those mentioned fraud costs and other extra fees that Visa and MasterCard regularly present to try justifying their nearly 1.7% merchant interchange fee for transacting an electronic payment on the two leading credit card payment networks in the U.S., overseas, the interchange fee can be as low as .5% in Australia, .7% in the UK and zero in Canada for Pin-based debit card transactions. 

 

I also don’t think regular store-branded cards charge a per transaction fee, which Visa and MasterCard can tack on of about 35-cents for each charge.

 

Many of the store gift cards can be used at multiple locations and even for ordering on their website for electronic payment transactions.  Airline gift cards can be used at multiple airports, hotel gift cards can be used system wide at all their locations, yet they are without those interchange fees.

 

Micro balances on Visa and MasterCard gift cards are nearly a pure tax, as it is challenging to use those small amounts.  And often merchants can’t process those small amounts. I tried it at a Chevron gas station, when I had a 35-cent balance and the card was denied.  However, look at Starbucks and thousands of other merchants who will give you cash back. In California, it is a state law that when asked, stores must give shoppers cash back when the balance on the store gift card falls below ten dollars.

 

The moral is that retailers understand that gift cards are a benefit and provided value added sales, while the banks use credit and debit cards as a decades-long scheme to take on added fees just because they can.   As more attention is being publicized on this issue, Visa and MasterCard’s monopolistic 80% market power and cartel-like control are angering many.

 

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Visa and MasterCard’s April Fool’s Day Interchange Saga

Although the letter was dated in mid-March, ScanMyPhotos.com, like millions of other merchants received the new rate schedules just days before the April 1st increase. As is a tradition, twice each year, we regularly receive these letters announcing the new Visa and MasterCard merchant fees.

Even as the lead plaintiff in a merchant interchange antitrust suit against Visa, MasterCard and its major (still solvent) member banks, I have no clue what the new rates are.  Now, they just direct you to a website to review the merchant interchange fee rates.

Here is the letter:

PAGE ONE

PAGE TWO

MASTERCARD WORLDWIDE INTERCHANGE RATES As of April 1, 2009 (115 pages!)

VISA USA INTERCHANGE RATES  (The new, April 1, 2009 rates, although in effect are unknown, as they have yet to be updated as of 7:30 pm (PDT, Wed, April 1, 2009)

Watch What Congress Needs to Know About Interchange Fees

From UnfairCreditCardFees.com

The Only Thing Funny About Visa and MasterCard’s Credit Card Fees

Click here for more info from UnFairCredit CardFees.com

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