The hottest: Credit Card Fair Fee Act

US voters were polled to express their opinion on the Credit Card Fair Fee Act, a legislation according to which retailers are allowed to negotiate credit card fees directly with the credit card industry in order to cut interchange fees. The survey shows that 77% of them support the new legislation.

In the course of comparison of customers’ attitude towards credit card companies and other industries the following results were yielded. Thus, according to the consumers’ point of view credit card companies were found to conduct their business wrong three times more than cable companies and six times more than phone companies. In addition 65% of the respondents state that credit card industries do not make allowance for their business values. Interestingly, the same study found that the Credit Card Fair Fee Act is ardently supported by 51% of Republicans and the similar percentage of Democrats.

The figures obtained from the statistics show that interchange fees cost American people $42 billion last year. The amount of the fee may reach $2 out of every $100 spent with a credit card. Up to the present moment credit card interchange fees has been specified secretly without admitting merchants into the negotiation process. Thus the new legislation is an opportune support which is expected to make credit card market more transparent and open a place for negotiations.

While majority of Republicans and Democrats along with other American people express their full approval for the Credit Card Fair Fee Act House of Representatives is being attacked by the letters coming from everywhere to stop the government’s intervention into the policy of the credit cards industry.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) received a letter from the Pentagon Federal Credit Union where the union expressed its concern over the new bill which is believed to result in costs increase and card awards diminishing while favoring merchants. The letter emphasizes that "government controls involving the establishment of a very complex pricing regime would in our estimation more advantageously be informed by America's free market system."

Similar letters were sent to Rep. Conyers and U.S. Rep. Christopher Cannon (R-UT) from the National Black Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), to U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and to U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) from the Department of Justice (DOJ). All the letters stressed that the legislation if validated would harm competition and consumers.

MasterCard expressed its disapproval towards the fee act in its latest press release noting that the government need not intrude into the industry as it is inexpedient on the part of the government to set prices and negotiate the terms of contracts for private commercial entities.

"Such policy decisions in the past have proven to be unworkable, unpopular and detrimental to the free market economy," said Noah J. Hanft, MasterCard General Counsel and Chief Franchise Officer. "There is no evidence that demonstrates that price controls or antitrust exemptions will result in savings passed along to consumers. To the contrary, we believe such moves will hurt consumers through higher fees and fewer benefits when they choose to use their payment cards."