Connect with us

Entertainment

Limit swiping fees to help small businesses thrive Daily Press

Limit swiping fees to help small businesses thrive Daily Press

 


Jessica Fischer, of Chesapeake, owns and operates five 7-Eleven stores in southeast Virginia.

When I became a 7-Eleven franchise owner 16 years ago, I knew I was going to face my fair share of challenges. Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic and its ripple effects on our economy have made it particularly difficult to serve our customers, due to labor and supply chain issues. However, now there is an even newer challenge that further jeopardizes small businesses in Virginia by skyrocketing credit card fees, which hurts our bottom line and our ability to hire staff.

Swipe fees are processing fees charged by credit card companies for every purchase made at small businesses like mine. Visa and Mastercard control about 80% of card volume in the United States, a virtual monopoly leading to runaway fee hikes and a lack of competition in the credit card processing market.

My shoppers will tell you they are feeling the burn more than anyone else in the current economic climate as many are forced to pay more for necessities. Sweeping fees are now estimated to cost the average American family more than $900 a year. This is a direct result of steep swipe fee increases that have forced many small business owners to raise prices for products and services.

Last year, card processing fees rose 24% to over $130 billion, an all-time high. Clearly, the problem is not getting better until businesses have more options when choosing a service provider to process their transactions.

Of course, my business is not alone; the convenience industry as a whole was forced to pay over $13 billion in card fees in 2021. 7-Eleven stores lose an average of $85,000 per year due to swipe fees.

Today, these fees are our second highest operating cost, ahead of rent and utilities. The added costs of sweeping fees even make it difficult to track benefits for my employees, some of whom have been with me for 30 years.

In addition to price increases, the impact of these exorbitant swipe fees trickles down to our local community in other ways. I am proud to be a small business owner and it is extremely important to be an active member of our community by contributing to local schools, supporting Little League teams and donating to the YMCA. But as sweeping fees continue to rise, my budget and ability to give back continue to shrink.

Until now, outrageous sweeping fees seemed almost the status quo. When I learned that Congress was not only aware of this problem, but was trying to crack down on sweeping fees, I was excited for my fellow small business owners and our customers. Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House and Senate introduced the Credit Card Competition Act, which would require credit card-issuing banks to offer alternate networks for processing credit transactions. In other words, there would be real competition in the market and Visa and Mastercard would be held responsible for their unfair practices.

Candidates across the state and nation just wrapped up their campaign on a variety of issues facing our economy, including the rising cost of goods. This bill is a concrete opportunity to tackle this problem head-on. The senses. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine are expected to support the Credit Card Competition Act on behalf of the millions of small businesses and consumers in Virginia who desperately need financial help.

The past few years have been challenging, but I remain firmly committed to doing good for my community and serving my customers through the ups and downs. A little help from Congress on sweeping fees would go a long way to freeing up small businesses to thrive and allowing families to keep a little more of their hard-earned money.

Jessica Fisherof Chesapeake, owns and operates five 7-Eleven stores in southeast Virginia.

Sources

1/ https://Google.com/

2/ https://www.dailypress.com/opinion/vp-ed-column-fischer-1127-20221126-uwzdabit3fhadmvnmkqdgzngyq-story.html

The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos

ExBUlletin

to request, modification Contact us at Here or [email protected]