Relief for Marylanders is waiting with the Credit Card Competition Act

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Marylanders are no strangers to the strain brought on by stubbornly high expenses. Our state’s cost of living remains 13% higher than the national average, so it’s clear we need action from Congress to help with the financial strain many of us are feeling. Fortunately, there is a bill ready and waiting that would bring significant savings and relief to Maryland residents; the Credit Card Competition Act.

One of the main expenses taking a bite out of our wallets, and an expense many of us don’t even realize we are paying, is credit card swipe fees, which continue to rise year after year thanks to the lack of competition in the payments industry. This is because two of the nation’s biggest credit card companies, Visa and Mastercard, command more than 80% of the market share.

In the absence of meaningful competition, the Visa/Mastercard duopoly has more than tripled the swipe fees levied on businesses over the past decade. And because swipe fees are charged as a percentage of every transaction, the credit card industry has profited greatly from inflation, and now stands to reap even bigger rewards from the higher costs associated with tariffs. Just last year, swipe fees for Visa and Mastercard credit cards alone climbed over $11 billion, siphoning more money out of our communities and sending it straight to Wall Street.

That’s a 10% increase in just one year. As swipe fees inevitably continue rising, small retailers will continue to be left with no option but to raise their prices in order to stay afloat. Thus, those higher fees are passed to their customers. Swipe fees are already the second-highest operating cost for many businesses. Now those merchants find themselves between a rock and a hard place, forced to choose between closing their doors or losing customers because of heftier price tags.

This is precisely why the CCCA should be a priority for Sens. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in 2025. The bill would allow merchants to choose from a minimum of two credit card networks when processing transactions. By allowing merchants more network choices, the CCCA would help foster a healthy and competitive environment where Visa and Mastercard are incentivized to lower swipe fees and improve their services. Savings from decreased fees would allow business owners to lower prices on goods and pay employees more, giving consumers the relief they need.

With such potential, it’s no surprise the CCCA has widespread support from the vast majority of voters. The average household pays approximately $1,200 in swipe fees each year, through increased prices as a result of high swipe fees. Even worse is the inequitable transfer of more than $15 billion from “less to more educated, poorer to richer, and high to low minority areas.” Analyzing these demographics, economists from the Federal Reserve found that credit cards and their subsequent swipe fees and rewards programs actually widen existing disparities. For example, lower-income individuals are more likely to be underbanked and pay with cash, while high-income earners are often the beneficiaries of luxury credit cards with premium perks that allow them to offset some of the swipe fee impact. This means the most financially vulnerable Americans are often subsidizing the credit card rewards experienced by those making more.

Injecting the credit card market with competition and driving down swipe fee rates would help reduce these inequities and relieve the financial burden on businesses and consumers alike. The CCCA is a sensible bill that would be a huge win for Marylanders and all Americans. I hope our congressional delegation will support its passage as soon as possible.

Jesus Romero is the owner of several restaurants and food trucks in Baltimore, including Charro Negro.