Visa and Mastercard are profiting from higher swipe fees and growing debt, but their swipe-opoly is under fire

Swipe left… Your local grocery and Disney have a common enemy: card fees. This spring, Visa and Mastercard hiked the “swipe fees” they charge merchants for card purchases. FYI: merchants can pass swipe costs on to shoppers. Visa and Mastercard process 83% of US credit cards and earned $55B+ from swipe fees last year. But the duopoly is under scrutiny:

• New rules: The Senate’s finalizing a bill that would boost payment competition by forcing banks to use several partners, versus exclusively using Visa or Mastercard. More competition’s expected to reduce fees by $11B+ annually.
• New suits: This month Disney sued Visa and Mastercard, alleging they were essentially fixing fees — they settled privately. Walmart, Kroger, Amazon, and others have won billions doing the same.
• Scandals: Last week a judge greenlighted a suit against Visa for processing payments for Pornhub parent MindGeek (which is accused of enabling child sex abuse). The case could make payment juggernauts responsible for all transactions they process.

Land of the fee… home of the paid. US retailers pay 7X more in swipe fees than European retailers, which cap card fees. Most of that fee $$ goes to the bank that actually issued your card, because the bank is the one paying the merchant. But networks like Visa and Mastercard, which move your $5 latte payment from your bank to your coffee shop, are cashing in too:

• Booming profits: Visa’s and Mastercard’s profits surged last quarter, and Visa’s 66% profit margin is the S&P 500’s highest.
• Soaring IOUs: Credit-card balances spiked 13% last quarter, the biggest jump in 20+ years, as savings dwindled and inflation sizzled.