BURLINGTON, Vt. – When Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) wanted an update on credit card fees, retailer Peter Annis of the Black River Quik Stop was more than happy to tell him about how the card companies make all the profit, WCAX-TV News reports. “When a person uses a credit card, based upon a certain margin, I’m paying that person to pump gas—at the pump,” he said.

As Annis pointed out, when a consumer uses a credit card for gasoline, the retailer owes the credit-card company an interchange fee, which is often more than his profit on the fuel purchase. The nation’s two largest credit-card companies, Visa and MasterCard, charge retailers an average of 2.5 percent on each purchase.

And the banking industry, which has long opposed any review of a system that retailers say is broken, is now asking for Congressional oversight. “This really is a national issue and it needs to be dealt with in the halls of Congress,” said Chris D’Elia of the Vermont Bankers Association.

Vermont’s Assistant Attorney General Eliot Burg commented that the national credit-card companies have not been helpful in explaining the various credit-card fees. “There is aggressive marketing going on to young people and others, teaser rates that get switched without people realizing it,” Burg said.

Especially for small, independent retailers, the cost of accepting credit cards has become a hindrance to doing business. For his part, Welch said that Congress is expected to pass legislation this year that would restrain some of the credit-card industry’s predatory practices.