A COALITION OF MAIN STREET BUSINESSES AND CONSUMERS

Texans are paying up to $1,800 a year in hidden credit card fees. Enough is enough.

Hidden credit card processing fees, known as “swipe fees” are set by Wall Street and built into the price of food, gas, healthcare, and every other essential. It's time for Texas lawmakers to stand with Main Street and lower everyday costs for families and local businesses.

Family of four at a restaurant, with two young kids, parents, and a man writing in a checkbook, enjoying food and drinks, during daytime.
See what you're paying
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Join the movement

$236B

in swipe fees charged across the US in a single year

80%

of the US credit card market controlled by Visa and Mastercard

7-8x

higher than the swipe fees paid in Europe and the UK

Top 3

expense for many local businesses, with no power to negotiate

WHAT ARE SWIPE FEES?

A hidden Wall Street tax on nearly everything you buy

Swipe fees are the charges every business pays to banks and card networks each time it accepts a credit card. You rarely see them on receipts, yet they are built into the price of almost everything you buy.

Swipe fees typically add 2.25% to 4% to a sale. That may not sound like much, but it adds up to an estimated $1,200 to $1,800 every year for the average American family. Swipe fees are even applied to the taxes and tips a business collects on behalf of others.

An infographic illustrating where each $100 bill goes in a sale. It shows that $96 is kept by a business, and $4 is lost to swipe fees. The infographic includes a large, stylized dollar bill at the top, with a star in the center and a zigzag edge on the right side. The text at the top reads 'Hidden swipe fees' and 'Where every $100 goes.' Additional text explains that on a $100 sale, up to $4 is taken in swipe fees, even after tax and tips, which a business does not keep.

SAVINGS CALCULATOR

How much could you save?

See what credit card swipe fees cost you today, and what you could keep with the protections other countries already have.

(Enter the dollar amount your business runs through credit cards in a year.)
$
Your business pays about
$11,800 to Wall Street every year
in swipe fees to banks and card networks in the US today.
If we had the protections these countries already have
Canada
Fees here: $6,250 · 1.25%
Australia
Fees here: $4,000 · 0.80%
Europe / UK
Fees here: $1,500 · 0.30%

Estimates use the 2.36% US average Interchange fee for Visa and Mastercard credit cards, compared with published average rates abroad. Figures are illustrative.

List of expenses and costs for a Texas family's annual budget, including grocery, activities, bills, insurance, and miscellaneous.

WHY IT COSTS SO MUCH

Visa and Mastercard set the price.
Texans pay it every day.

Visa and Mastercard decide the fees for themselves and all the banks. Small businesses have no negotiating power, and we all pay the price.

01

An 80% Chokehold

Visa and Mastercard alone control about 80% of the US credit card market, setting not only their fees, but also the fees the banks receive.

02

No power to negotiate

Local restaurants, gas stations, and other businesses cannot bargain over the fees they are charged.

03

7-8 times European competitors

Other countries protect their citizens while keeping a strong credit card industry. Why are Americans paying for other nations to save?

A woman making a contactless payment with a credit card at a grocery store checkout counter, with fresh vegetables in the shopping bag and a support local sign in the background.

04

Built into every price

The fees keep climbing, and businesses have no choice but to calculate their prices based on this uncontrollable cost.

Line graph showing the decline in average credit card swipe fees from 2003 to 2025 for the US, Canada, Australia, and the EU/UK, with key cap fee reforms marked in 2006, 2015, and 2020.

It shouldn’t be this way. Texans are paying enough.

THE SOLUTION

Momentum is building

This is not a fight between the left and the right. It’s a fight between Main Street and Wall Street, and leaders across the spectrum now agree the system is broken.

President trump backs reform
Senator Sanders
Vice President Vance co-sponsored the bill
Senator Durbin
Rep. lance gooden (TX)

IN WASHINGTON

Real competition is on the table

A bipartisan push in Congress would finally bring competition to the credit card industry and lower costs nationwide.

IN TEXAS

Our state doesn’t have to wait

Texas has many laws to prevent anticompetitive conduct. It’s time to pass our own law to end the swipe fee ripoff.

People in suits raising their hands during a meeting or hearing, with documents and a microphone on the table.

It’s time for Texas lawmakers to act — lower everyday costs for local businesses and families by addressing the hidden fees that enrich Wall Street at our expense.

Join the movement

Our growing coalition of Texas businesses and families is fighting back. Texans are paying enough.
Here’s how to help today.

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Sign the petition

Add your name to support
swipe fee savings for Texas
families and local businesses.

Sign now

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Share the campaign on social
media and with your friends,
family, and coworkers.

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Get involved

Reach out to learn more about
the coalition and other ways
you can help.

Contact the team

Texans Against Hidden Credit Card Fees

is a coalition of Main Street businesses and consumers who are working together to advocate for greater competition,
transparency, and fairness within Texas’ credit card market. Current member organizations include:

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SOURCES

https://merchantspaymentscoalition.com/credit-and-debit-card-swipe-fees-totaled-236-billion-2024-over-one-quarter-higher-previously

https://www.kansascityfed.org/Interchange%20Fees/documents/11143/PublicAuthor
ityInvolvementPaymentCardMarkets_VariousCountries_August2025Update.pdf

https://insights.cmspi.com/soir-2025

The Nilson Report

Visa & Mastercard Investor Relations / SEC Filings

McKinsey Global Payments Reports

https://merchantspaymentscoalition.com/sites/default/files/2026-03/StandUpForMainStreet-2026-03-18_0.pdf

Central Bank Data (Regional Insights)

Canada Department Of Finance Voluntary Undertakings 

Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Reform of the EFTPOS and Visa Debit Systems

United Kingdom Payment Services & Interchange Legislation payment Services Regulations 2017 (SI 2017 No. 752)

Office Journal of the European Union, 19 May 2015