WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Merchants Payments
 Coalition (MPC) Legislative Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Hatcher today
 issued the following statement based on comments from Senator Christopher
 Dodd (D- CT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and
 Urban Affairs, at this morning's Hearing titled "Examining the Billing,
 Marketing, and Disclosure Practices of the Credit Card Industry and Their
 Impact on Consumers."
     "We applaud the efforts of Senator Dodd (D-CT), who called for
 heightened scrutiny into the credit card industry and will be holding a
 series of hearings in coming months to investigate further among other
 topics the practice of hidden credit and debit card 'interchange fees.'
     The credit card companies have long profited from placing hidden fees
 and practices on unsuspecting merchants and consumers.
     The interchange fee is the biggest fee consumers have never heard of
 and accounts for more than the total of all other consumer fees such as
 late fees and over-the-limit fees.
     Last year, Visa and MasterCard generated more than $30 billion in
 credit and debit card interchange fees -- a fee set in secret by Visa and
 MasterCard and imposed on merchants and consumers by the credit card
 industry and completely hidden from consumers."
     The MPC, a group of nearly 30 associations representing retailers,
 supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, fuel stations, on-line
 merchants and other businesses that accept debit and credit cards are
 fighting for a more competitive and transparent card system that works
 better for consumers and merchants alike. The coalition's member
 associations collectively represent about 2.7 million stores with
 approximately 50 million employees. For further information, please visit
 http://www.unfaircreditcardfees.com
 
 

SOURCE Merchants Payments Coalition