Visa, Mastercard to hike credit, debit card fees
Two of the largest card companies in the U.S. – Visa and Mastercard – are set to hike fees later this year.
The pair of companies will increase existing fees on their credit and debit cards in April, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal on Friday. Some of the fees that could rise include what the companies charge financial institutions for processing card payments and what merchants pay to banks when a shopper uses the company’s card – an action that can result in merchants raising their own prices.
Up to 2.5 percent of prices for goods are set aside for covering card fees, the Journal said.
Additionally, when consumers return merchandise purchased using debit cards from Mastercard, those transactions will be more expensive for stores in some cases, sources told the Journal.
Spokespeople for Visa and Mastercard did not return FOX Business’ request for comment.
Card companies often justify price increases by noting that ramped up security measures need to be paid for. Additionally, they claim their cards result in more sales.
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In the year ending in June, Americans paid about $104 billion in interest and fees. That amount was expected to rise another 10 percent for the year ending March 31, 2019.
In September, credit card networks paid $6 billion to settle an antitrust lawsuit with merchants over fees.