WASHINGTON – The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC), of which NACS is a founding member, issued a statement on Tuesday responding to Visa USA's announcement that it has posted its interchange rates to its Web site and make the information available to all "interested parties.

"This announcement by Visa begins to shed a much-needed spotlight on the excessive interchange rates merchants and consumers are forced to pay on virtually every credit or debit card transaction," said MPC Chairman Mallory Duncan, who is also senior vice president and general counsel at the National Retail Federation. "It is evident that Visa has felt the pressure of congressional scrutiny and merchant outrage over these anti-competitive practices, since as recently as September they maintained that these fees were already available."

Late Monday, Visa issued a press release, quoting Rhonda Bentz, vice president of Visa USA, who noted, "By posting our 'wholesale' rates, Visa USA is providing more clarity into the Visa system than is seen in any other retail environment."

Bentz added the announcement to make interchange rates available to the public is "consistent" with the company's ongoing efforts to provide greater clarity" about its business. "Recently, we announced our decision to provide the Visa USA Operating Regulations to qualified U.S. merchants and third party agents," she noted.

Duncan noted that Visa's action to release its interchange rates "brings to light the need for further transparency," adding that the report "shows a bewildering array of rates for different cards, merchants and types of transactions, which emphasizes the opacity of interchange."

Meanwhile, without the operating rules that govern how these fees are applied, of which Visa has yet to disclose, Duncan noted that Visa's recent announcement "falls far short of the disclosure that is required and that Visa promised in testimony before Congress this summer." He also pointed out the recent GAO report on Visa and MasterCard's failure to clearly disclose fees and terms to consumers, adding, that the card companies' "lack of transparency in dealing with merchants should come as no surprise."

"Our position is clear," said Duncan. "The collective setting of interchange fees by Visa and MasterCard violates the antitrust laws and costs merchants and consumers $30 billion a year. Visa and MasterCard need to fulfill the promises they made in testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee to provide their full operating rules. Only when the full picture of the interchange puzzle is complete can Congress decide what further action may be required."

Duncan also commented that Visa's announcement inaccurately stated that merchants "do not pay interchange" but pay a merchant discount fee instead. In fact, interchange is a non-negotiable fee paid as part of the merchant discount fee, accounting for approximately 80 percent of the total merchant discount fee.

The MPC is working on behalf of merchants and consumers who are fighting for a more transparent credit card fee system in the United States.
For more information about the Merchants Payments Coalition, visit the group's Web site, or contact Lyle Beckwith at NACS.