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- By Native News Online Staff
The Merchants Payments Coalition today welcomed a letter from some of the nation’s largest Native American tribes urging Congress to include the Credit Card Competition Act in the GENIUS Act, aiming to help reduce rising costs for tribal members.
“The Credit Card Competition Act would be transformative for rural and tribal communities by allowing us to keep more of our revenues in communities rather than allowing big banks to gorge on profits from their unjust, antiquated and completely unnecessary swipe fees,” Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) Chairman J. Garret Renville said.
With swipe fees driving up prices by nearly $1,100 a year for the average family, “That is an outrageous amount of money, especially for our tribal families who often live well below the poverty line,” Renville said. “Credit and debit fees literally keep food out of reach for some tribal families.”
In a letter to Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., and Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the Coalition of Large Tribes (COLT) urged that the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) be included in “any stablecoin legislation,” including the GENIUS Act or “any other moving vehicle.” Representing over 50 tribes with reservations of at least 100,000 acres—covering more than 90% of Indian lands and over half of the U.S. Native American population—COLT emphasized how essential tribal businesses are to funding critical government services for tribal citizens. The letter highlights the millions of dollars lost each year to excessive credit card swipe fees, which drain resources from those vital services.
This letter marks the latest in a growing number of endorsements of the CCCA from Native American tribes and Native-owned businesses. Eric White, chairman of the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians in Washington state, told Congress that “even we, as sovereign nations, are powerless to negotiate” fair terms under the current credit card system.
Credit and debit card swipe fees – which have risen 70% since the pandemic and reached a record $187.2 billion in 2024 with the percentage rate charged on each swipe going up dramatically – are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor. The fees are far too high to absorb, especially for small merchants, and drive up consumer prices by nearly $1,200 a year for the average family. Swipe fees paid in each state and the amount saved under the CCCA are available here.
Visa and Mastercard – which control 80% of the market – each centrally set the swipe fees charged to merchants by banks that issue cards under their brands, and also block transactions from being processed over other networks that could do the job with lower fees and better security. The legislation would require banks with at least $100 billion in assets to enable cards they issue to be processed over at least two unaffiliated networks – Visa or Mastercard plus a competitor like NYCE, Star or Shazam.
Banks would choose which networks to enable but merchants would then choose which to use, resulting in competition over fees, security and service that is expected to save merchants and consumers $17 billion a year.
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