Merchants are quite upset about the continuation of credit card fees that swallow a certain percentage of profit whenever customers use the card for purchases. Keith Lipert, owner of a small gallery business in Washington, explains the problem that comes with the convenience of card swiping: whenever a customer uses the card as a form of payment, the store owner needs to eventually pay about 2 percent for a precessing fee. According to the National Retail Federation, those processing fees brought in between 38 and 46 billion dollars of revenue in the year 2008. While business owners have their fair shair of complaints, the credit card industry has fought equally as hard to defend the reasoning behind the fees. They argue that the their credit card services benefit businesses and effectively attracts a considerable amount of customers to the marketplace.
As if the burden on business owners is not heavy enough, a new bill will go into effect this week that will most likely increase the interchange fees even more. This has caused several merchant organizations to actively rally against the new law. However, antitrust laws make it relatively difficult for owners to effectively discuss this conflict and negotiate a reduction of fees. The lowering of interchange fees can possibly lead to a decrease in the prices for goods and services. Although some business owners acknowledge the benefits of credit cards and the reason behind the interchange fees, they are fighting for the right to negotiate and have their voice be heard.
The business owners' admirable determination to win the right of negotiation reminds me of the first amendment, more specifically the right to free speech. These merchants are currently facing an obstacle which impedes their opinions from affecting the credit card bill. As a result, they will use the same spirits that built the foundation of democracy to gain their basic rights. I believe that credit card companies have a legitimate reason to increase the fees, knowing how valuable their service is to the U.S. economy. However, this absolutely does not support the notion that buuisiness owners should not be part of the decision to raise fees. They are the ones who take the most direct impact from these fees, so they should be given some power to determine it. In order to have the voice of owners be heard, there needs to be trust in them. Similar to the relationship that exists between citizens and the government, trust is critical in achieving certain "inalienable" rights.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/24/swipe.fees/index.html
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