This Week in Credit Cards: Swipe Fees Reach New High

The Merchant Payments Coalition put a target on credit and debit cards this week. According to a new report, swipe fees reached a record high in 2025, coming in at more than $198 billion. The figure represents an increase of more than $10 billion over 2024’s numbers.

In a press release, Doug Kantor, National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel and Executive Committee Member of the coalition, called on Congress to take action on the fees.

This Week in Credit Cards: Swipe fees hit new highs, the CCCA seeks a new path, Mastercard makes moves, and more. Catch up here: https://t.co/mik9aFZDqx pic.twitter.com/iz7xCWp27j

— CardRates Industry News (@CardRatesNews) March 20, 2026

The Merchants Payment Coalition said that, for many merchants, the swipe fees on credit and debit cards are their second-highest operating cost following that for labor. 

But the groups did concede that the average rate of swipe fees on Mastercard and Visa-branded credit cards in 2025 only increased to 2.36% from 2.35% the prior year.

We spoke with Kantor recently after this report came out so we will have more on this story next week. And continue reading for a roundup of other stories shaping the credit card industry this week.

The Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) took a step back recently when the Senate did not advance its amendment in passing the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act. 

Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) have continued to try to push the CCCA forward. Marshall had filed an amendment to link the act with the housing bill.

Some of those in favor of moving the CCCA forward believe it will ultimately lead to lower swipe fees. But other groups, including the Electronic Transactions Association, fear that the act will undermine security protections in the payments system.

If the CCCA does advance, it could also compel credit card issuers to raise other fees and reduce the value of rewards they offer to cardholders. At this time, it’s unclear what path Durbin and Marshall will follow to get the Credit Card Competition Act back on track.

Airlines are earning substantial sums from their partnerships with credit card companies. And, in many cases, those amounts are outpacing the revenue they earn on ticket sales.

Delta took in more than $8 billion in 2025 from American Express as a result of its partnership with the company, a new report from Reuters reveals. The airline said in the report that the majority of its marketing-agreement money is from American Express. 

And many carriers are changing the rules of their loyalty programs to drive further spending on co-branded credit cards. For example, United Airlines is moving to require regular members who want to earn miles on basic economy fares to have a qualifying United card.

The value of the partnerships between airlines and card companies means that air carriers are likely to pay more attention to legislation — such as the Credit Card Competition Act — that could reshape the structure of rewards programs.

Approximately 111 million people in the U.S. are carrying credit card balances from one month to the next because they aren’t able to pay the full amounts due on their monthly card bills, according to a new report from Protect Borrowers and The Century Foundation. 

The report further reveals that 27 million people in the country are only paying the minimum amount each month on their card bills. Credit card companies understand that not all of their customers will pay them back on time for the money they lend them, which is why they charge interest on overdue amounts.

But the figures from this report could grab the attention of politicians seeking to impose caps on interest rates. While a 10% cap on rates appears to have lost traction in recent weeks, card companies must bear in mind that legislators could still attempt to push it forward in 2026.

This week was a busy one for Mastercard. The leading card network announced that it has struck a deal to purchase stablecoin infrastructure outfit BVNK. 

In a press release on the agreement, Mastercard’s Chief Product Officer, Jorn Lambert, said that the company believes that many financial companies will eventually offer services around digital currencies. And the purchase will help Mastercard support nearly every type of transaction. 

The acquisition doesn’t come cheap though, as it will cost the company up to $1.8 billion.

Mastercard also made news on the cryptocurrency front last week when it announced the launch of its new crypto partner program. The initiative stands to help the company collaborate with its partners around the next stages of on-chain payments.

Finally, Mastercard and J.P Morgan are partnering to bring the card issuer’s virtual card offering to Europe. Virtual cards can help businesses gain efficiencies and have more control in how they manage payments as well as working capital, Mastercard’s Global Head of Corporate Solutions Marc Pettican said in a press release on the collaboration.