More On Interchange Fees

Nicole Gaudiano writes for the Gannett News Service about merchant reaction to credit and debit card interchange fees. "Interchange fees in the United States last year averaged about 1.8 percent of the cost of a transaction, among the highest in the industrialized world. They cost retailers about $30.7 billion last year. Part of the frustration for merchants is that it’s hard to negotiate with the card associations, said Kenneth Posner, a Morgan Stanley analyst. “They have shown an ability to raise prices even when merchants complain,“ he said. “The big frustration is not necessarily the magnitude of the cost. It’s the inability to do anything about it.“