IMGCAP(1)]
The Electronic Payments Coalition today announced the launch of a Web site explaining why the merchants' assault on interchange rates is unfair. The group also is seeking to convince consumers to contact members of Congress to prevent passage of "a sweetheart deal that will force consumers to foot the bill instead." A 61-member, Washington, D.C.-based ad hoc group of payment companies and organizations is sponsoring the site, www.MerchantsShouldPayTheirFairShare.com, including Visa Inc., MasterCard Worldwide and American Express Co. Most of the nation's top card issuers, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Capital One Financial Corp. and Citigroup, also are members, as are dozens of state and national bank and credit-union associations. Discover Financial Services is not a member. The Web site suggests merchants "don't want to pay their fair share for accepting debit and credit," and it explains how interchange helps banks offset the risks of accepting cards. In a short video on the site, a man demonstrates the complexities of interchange on a whiteboard. "Without interchange, the entire debit and credit system wouldn't work," he contends, and warns that interchange-rate regulation could force banks to raise card fees for consumers or stop offering credit and debit cards altogether. The Web site includes samples of letters to Congress from such organizations as the Consumer Rights League, the Latino Coalition and the National Black Chamber of Commerce.
