Last week, I joined bookstore and retail advocates from across the country in Washington, D.C., for a “Fly-In” sponsored in part by the American Booksellers Association, to meet with members of Congress — all to push for a simple but vital reform that impacts every independent bookseller: swipe fee reform.

Happily, the senators' offices we met with were receptive to the message but also non-committal. Meaning: more pressure is needed from retailers and consumers alike to push this one over the finish line!

Every time a customer uses a credit card, merchants pay “swipe fees” to banks and networks — fees that have more than doubled over the past decade. These costs don’t just hit retailers. They ripple outward, increasing prices for everything from books and groceries to medical bills, fuel, and vet visits.

That’s why the American Booksellers Association is calling on us to urge Congress to support the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) — a bipartisan bill sponsored by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Roger Marshall (R-KS). The CCCA would require that credit cards issued by the largest U.S. banks be processed over at least two unaffiliated networks, giving merchants the power to choose a lower-cost, more secure alternative. One network could remain Visa or Mastercard; the other could be an independent network like Star, NYCE, or Shazam.

This would make a difference. In many other countries, merchants pay just one-seventh to one-eighth of the swipe fees we do. And despite claims from credit card companies that reform would hurt rewards, the numbers tell a different story: last year, swipe fees generated close to $185 billion, while rewards paid out totaled about $40 billion — mostly funded by membership fees and interest, not by merchants.

We’re now at critical mass. For many booksellers and any US business accepting Visa/MC, swipe fees have become the single largest operational cost after labor. If we can’t control this cost, our ability to serve our communities is at risk.

“Swipe fees have become the highest operational cost after labor for most bookstores.”

 Take Action Today
It takes just a minute! Visit Bookweb’s Advocacy Action Center to email your members of Congress and urge them to support the Credit Card Competition Act. Let’s use our voices — together — to level the playing field for independent bookstores everywhere.

Shari Stauch
Main Street Reads
Summerville, SC