Vending

Swipe fees may cost consumers $20 billion this holiday season

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December 11, 2025

Swipe fees, which banks charge retailers for processing credit card transactions, could cost consumers $20 billion or more in higher prices this holiday season, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.

The fees for an average family equal the cost of a Barbie doll or Lego set, according to a press release.

"If Scrooge and the Grinch conspired on how to ruin the holidays, credit card swipe fees would be their plan," MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said in the release. "These credit card fees are so high they're swiping a Lego set or Barbie doll from under the tree of the average American family. Swipe fees increase inflation and make life less affordable for everyone. It's time for Congress to stop the card companies' humbug and give Americans some relief from fees."

Consumers are expected to spend an average $890 during the November-December holiday season for a total as high as $1.02 trillion, according to the National Retail Federation. Based on the average 2.35% rate for Visa and Mastercard, that would include about $21 in swipe fees

Swipe fees have risen 70% since the pandemic and reached a record $187.2 billion last year, costing the average family nearly $1,200, according to the release.

The holiday impact of swipe fees would not be affected by a recent proposed settlement of merchants' longstanding class-action antitrust litigation over Visa and Mastercard swipe fees, which has been rejected by all major merchant groups as inadequate.

The Merchants Payments Coalition represents retailers, supermarkets, convenience stores, gasoline stations, online merchants and others fighting for a more transparent card system that is fair to consumers and merchants.