IGA CEO John Ross spent May 19-20 in Washington, D.C. at the National Grocers Association's (NGA) Fly-in for Fair Competition, where independent retailers, wholesalers, and state association executives gathered to advocate for a level playing field in the grocery industry.
During meetings with representatives on Capitol Hill, the groups called for enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act and legislation to reform credit card routing to lower swipe fees, in addition to calling on Congress to pass a strong Farm Bill that ensures grocery retail remains at the center of delivering nutrition assistance through SNAP.
Ross shares the below message with IGA members and partners, regarding the need to reform credit card swipe fees.
Click to watch IGA CEO John Ross' message for IGA members and partners about credit card swipe fees.
The National Grocers Association (NGA) concluded a successful Fly-In for Fair Competition, bringing independent grocers from communities across the country to Capitol Hill to press lawmakers for swift action on the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act (S.3623/H.R.7035).
Over the course of the fly-in, grocers held more than 100 meetings with members of Congress and their staff and formally delivered a letter, signed by nearly 1,700 independent grocers nationwide, urging Congressional leadership to pass this critical legislation.
The letter underscores the urgent strain that escalating credit card “swipe fees” place on a high-volume, low-margin industry where net profits average just 1-2%. For independent grocers, who serve as anchors of small towns, rural communities, and urban neighborhoods, swipe fees rank among the highest operating expenses, in many cases second only to labor.
“Independent grocers came to Washington with one clear message: every dollar taken by unchecked swipe fees is a dollar that can’t be used to hold down prices for the families we serve,” said NGA President & CEO Greg Ferrara. “Competition has always been a cornerstone of American economic policy, and the Credit Card Competition Act would finally bring that principle to a market dominated by two companies.”
Together, the duopoly of Visa and Mastercard controls roughly 80% of the U.S. credit card market and unilaterally sets the network and interchange fees that merchants must pay. Their semiannual fee increases totaled $187.2 billion in 2024 alone, with Visa adding another $100 million in network-fee hikes earlier this year. Those costs fall disproportionately on small businesses with little bargaining power and are ultimately embedded in the price of groceries, costing the average American family nearly $1,800 per year.
The Credit Card Competition Act offers a targeted, pro-market remedy: it would require that credit cards issued by the largest banks support at least two competing networks, restoring competition and putting downward pressure on costs that drive up food prices. The letter also pushed back on industry claims that competition would jeopardize card rewards, noting that rewards are funded by issuing banks rather than by Visa or Mastercard, and that international practices, including a decade of reform in Australia, show rewards programs have remained robust after similar measures were implemented.
“Our members didn’t come to Washington asking for special treatment. They came asking Congress to apply a basic American principle, competition, to a credit card market that has none,” said Stephanie Johnson, NGA’s senior vice president and head of government affairs. “Passing the Credit Card Competition Act is the single most direct step Congress can take this year to bring down what families pay at the checkout stand, and our members made that case clearly to lawmakers today.”
“We had productive, bipartisan conversations on both sides of the Capitol, and the message we heard back is that members understand the urgency,” Johnson continued. “The bill is ready, our members are unified, President Trump supports it, and the only thing standing between American families and meaningful swipe fee relief is a vote. We will keep pressing until leadership puts this legislation on the floor.”
Contact your representatives and urge them to hold a vote on the bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act (S.3623/H.R.7035).