Credit card giants and banks spar with merchants over fees

From: POLITICO Influence - Wednesday May 04,2022 09:22 pm

May 04, 2022

Presented by

With Daniel Lippman

CARD GIANTS AND BANKS SPAR WITH MERCHANTS OVER SWIPE FEES: The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing this morning on the swipe fees and interchange fees that retailers are charged by credit card companies when running card transactions, which merchants contend are too high because companies such as Visa and Mastercard have consolidated too much power.

— “When Visa and Mastercard raise interchange fees, banks want to issue more cards because they make more on each swipe,” Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told the card executives. “And Visa and Mastercard profit when there are more swipes, because they take their own cut, called a network fee, from the merchant on each swipe. But merchants and their customers take it on the chin.” He pointed to a recent Visa earnings call in which an executive said that inflation was a positive for the company.

— In the hearing Bill Sheedy, a senior adviser to Visa’s chief executive, and Linda Kirkpatrick , president of Mastercard North America, defended their companies’ share of the payments market, while executives from the National Association of Convenience Stores and supermarket chain Giant Eagle argued that the lack of payment alternatives allowed card giants to strong-arm retailers into paying higher fees that small businesses must shoulder or pass on to consumers.

— The merchants in particular objected to a recent move by Visa and Mastercard to increase those fees, which also go to the card-issuing bank and have “ballooned in recent years along with the popularity of rewards credit cards, which typically carry higher fees to cover the cost of travel perks and other benefits,” The Wall Street Journal reported in March.

— But Visa and Mastercard argued that the fees help the companies innovate and protect customers from fraud, while pointing to the proliferation of fintech payment offerings like Venmo, Square, and buy-now, pay-later services to assert there is sufficient competition in the marketplace.

— Today’s hearing drew interest from a number of trade associations who also protested the fee hike. In a letter to Durbin and ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Michael Layman, the top lobbyist at the International Franchise Association thanked the lawmakers for convening the hearing while urging lawmakers “to inject additional competition into the payment card marketplace” to address “ longstanding concerns about the way that payment card fees are set and administered.”

— The National Retail Federationand National Restaurant Association echoed those concerns, with the restaurants’ Sean Kennedy writing that “restaurants and other merchants have no ability to negotiate the credit card rates that the two dominant card companies impose, nor in practicality are they able to seek out alternative payment processing options,” accusing Visa and Mastercard of “leverag[ing] their market power to effectively ban such alternatives, wiping away competition that could stem these exponentially rising fees and together controlling upwards of 80 percent of the U.S. credit market.”

— But the banking industry, in a letter to Durbin and Grassley earlier this week signed by eight trade groups, forcefully pushed back on expanding the so-called Durbin Amendment in Dodd-Frank that capped interchange fees for certain banks and credit unions.

— “Support for any legislation on this topic would undermine the overall health and security of the U.S. payments ecosystem and have significant negative implications for consumers and small businesses at a time when the U.S. economy is just starting to recover from a global pandemic,” the groups wrote, calling the idea a “special interest giveaway.” The signatories were the American Bankers Association, Bank Policy Institute, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, Electronic Payments Coalition, Independent Community Bankers of America, Mid-Sized Bank Coalition of America and the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions.

Good afternoon and welcome to PI. You're welcome for sparing you a Star Wars Day joke — as a reward, feel free to send any K Street tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

A message from ACT|The App Association:

Open and fair competition in the digital marketplace drives our members’ success, but the proposals in the Open App Markets Act will hinder our small business members’ opportunity for continued prosperity. https://actonline.org/2022/04/04/give-small-developers-a-chance-not-higher-barriers-to-entry/

THEGROUP TO FUNDRAISE FOR HOYER: TheGROUP D.C. partner Sudafi Henry gets all the attention for his time in Joe Biden ’s vice presidential office as liaison to the Hill, but Henry and two of the firm’s other partners are set to hold a fundraiser for another of Henry’s former bosses later this month, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, according to an invitation obtained by PI.

— The May 16 event will be hosted by Henry, TheGROUP managing partner Art Collins and TheGROUP partner Darrel Thompson, with the price of admission starting at $1,500. Attendees can pay $2,500 to be named a sponsor and $5,000 to be named a host for the fundraiser.

— The firm, which represents companies like Pfizer, BP, Lyft, JPMorgan, Abbott Labs, 3M, Intuit and more and which has seen business boom since Biden’s election, has held several fundraisers for Democrats throughout the spring, according to invitations obtained by PI, including for Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

ERVIN GRAVES ADDS PAUL AIDE:Ericka King, a former legislative counsel in Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) office, has joined Ervin Graves Strategy Group as a vice president in the government relations practice. King served as Paul’s top adviser on education, energy, agriculture, environment and housing policy, and also worked in former Rep. Gregg Harper’s (R-Miss.) office.

U.K. CUTS OFF RUSSIA FROM CONSULTING, PR SERVICES: “Britain will stop Russian firms from making use of U.K.-based accountancy, management consultancy, and PR services, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced Wednesday. Under the plan, British services companies in those sectors will be barred from exporting to Russian outfits, many of which make use of those services to aid their own exporting operations,” POLITICO Europe’s Graham Lanktree reports for Pros.

— “‘Cutting Russia’s access to British services will put more pressure on the Kremlin and ultimately help ensure Putin fails in Ukraine,’ Truss said. Doing business with Putin’s regime is, she added, ‘morally bankrupt.’ These services firms make up 10 percent of Russian imports from the U.K.’s services sector, according to the British government” — though major PR and consultancies have been among the hordes of businesses to shutter operations in Russia since the war began.

INTRODUCING DIGITAL FUTURE DAILY - OUR TECHNOLOGY NEWSLETTER, RE-IMAGINED: Technology is always evolving, and our new tech-obsessed newsletter is too! Digital Future Daily unlocks the most important stories determining the future of technology, from Washington to Silicon Valley and innovation power centers around the world. Readers get an in-depth look at how the next wave of tech will reshape civic and political life, including activism, fundraising, lobbying and legislating. Go inside the minds of the biggest tech players, policymakers and regulators to learn how their decisions affect our lives. Don't miss out, subscribe today.

CORPORATE GIANTS STAY MUM ON ROE BREACH: “As protesters gathered and politicians scrambled to speak out, the country’s largest corporations remained largely silent Tuesday after a leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision indicated that conservative justices are poised to overturn a landmark ruling that guarantees access to legal abortions,” CNBC’s Melissa Repko and Lauren Feiner report.

— “Dozens of companies, including Walmart, American Airlines and Disney, have yet to issue statements or respond to CNBC requests for comment. The Business Roundtable, a trade group that’s made up of top CEOs, said in a statement that it ‘does not have a position on this issue.’ Microsoft, JPMorgan and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce all declined to comment.”

— POLITICO’s publication of the draft opinion on Monday “has thrown companies into an unexpected and urgent communications challenge,” especially given the document is “not the final decision that is expected by the high court around the end of June.”

— “The ruling would permanently alter the health-care decisions of thousands of company employees and customers, but it’s also a divisive issue in U.S. politics — and the leak has exacerbated passions just months before the midterm congressional elections. Plus, the harsh backlash against Disney and other companies that have recently taken a stand on social issues may also be having a chilling effect on corporate America.”
SQUIRE, BOEHNER ACCUSED OF STEALING DATA TO FORM CANNABIS GROUP: “ John Boehner backed out of a deal to join a marijuana lobbying group — but only after he allegedly stole its data and talking points to form another, pro-weed lobbying outfit of his own,” The New York Post’s Lydia Moynihan reports.

— “The former House speaker signed an agreement in March 2018 to become co-chair of the 10 Campaign — a weed legalization group that takes its name from the 10th Amendment of the US Constitution, which establishes states’ rights,” according to a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

— “Less than a year later, in February 2019, however, Boehner announced he was launching a new group called the National Cannabis Roundtable, revealing he had tapped Kathleen Sebelius, the former Health and human services secretary, as a co-chair.

— “The powerful, Washington-based law firm Squire Patton Boggs, where Boehner is a partner, was also a strategic adviser on the project, according to the suit filed against both Boehner and the firm by 10 Campaign’s founder and executive director, James Pericola . He alleges that Boehner’s group, which went on to become a lucrative business, cut him out of its profits despite it being nothing more than a ‘repackaged version’ of his own.”

— “‘Boehner served to legitimize the industry … and paved the way for other politicians, elected officials and influencers to come to the table after years of opposition to cannabis legislation,’ the suit alleges. ‘And he did it by intentionally misleading Pericola.’”

A message from ACT|The App Association:

Jobs Report

— Erik Johnson has joined the Managed Funds Association as vice president of U.S. government affairs. He was most recently managing director at Daly Consulting Group.

— Biotechnology Innovation Organization has hired Chris Billeter as vice president of digital communications and Lynne Finnerty as director of agriculture and environment communications and promoted Connor McKoy to senior director of strategic communications. Billeter was previously a director at DCI Group, while Finnerty was previously a freelance policy writer and director of executive communications and projects at the American Farm Bureau Federation.

— Terrence Heubert joined Summit Strategies as a lobbyist working on state and federal matters. He previously served as a principal at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney.

— Bill Turenne Jr. has joined Chevron’s D.C. office as external affairs adviser. He is the former director of communications and external relations of the Energy Department's Artificial Intelligence & Technology Office in the Trump administration and is also a DOD alum.

— Danielle Najjar has been promoted to director of comms and marketing at Meridian International Center. She previously was digital marketing manager at the organization.

— The American Bankruptcy Institute has selected Hogan Lovells’ Kevin J. Carey to be president for a one-year term.

— Steve Moore and Paul Winfree have been named distinguished fellows in economics at the Heritage Foundation. Winfree most recently served as director of Heritage’s Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies and Richard F. Aster fellow.

— Maeve Bracken is now CRM marketing manager at Uber. She most recently was loyalty marketing manager at AARP.

— Rebekah Goshorn Jurata and Brandy Jackson are joining the American Investment Council. Jurata will be general counsel and previously was a board member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Jackson will be director of digital strategy and content and previously was corporate partnerships and creative director of Busboys and Poets.

— Adam Fischer is now a senior director for Waxman Strategies ’ environmental policy practice. He previously was a professional staff member for the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

— Jill Lesser is joining Finsbury Glover Hering as a partner in the Washington office. She previously was vice president of corporate communications and brand strategy at National Geographic Partners.

— Andrew Forman, most recently a partner at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, is joining the Justice Department’s antitrust division as deputy assistant attorney general, per Morning Tech.

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

New Joint Fundraisers

OFF THE SIDELINES PAC (Sens. Cynthia Lummis, Kirsten Gillibrand, STEER PAC, Off the Sidelines PAC)

New PACs

Florida Trust (Super PAC)
Schrepel Victory Committee (PAC)
Queer-Trans America Fund (PAC)
Your Mississippi Neighbors (Super PAC)

New Lobbying Registrations

None.

New Lobbying Terminations

Mabry Public Affairs LLC: Lower Colorado River Authority

A message from ACT|The App Association:

When the largest sellers on the app stores, with multi-billion-dollar valuations, come to Congress with proposals to reshape the mobile marketplace to suit their needs, policymakers should be rather skeptical. We urge Congress not to sacrifice consumers’ most important privacy and security protections–and with them, the competitive prospects of small app companies–in order to further advantage the app stores’ biggest winners. https://actonline.org/2022/04/04/give-small-developers-a-chance-not-higher-barriers-to-entry/