Trump Renews Push to Curb Credit Card Swipe Fees
Credit card swipe fees, collected by issuing banks and payment networks when merchants process transactions, have long drawn criticism from retailers and US lawmakers. The Credit Card Competition Act seeks to require large banks to offer alternative routing networks, potentially lowering costs through competition. Supporters say consumers could benefit, while banks warn that reduced fee revenue could weaken cash-back and travel-rewards programs.
Trump renewed his push at a Republican event in Dallas in September 2026, endorsing the Credit Card Competition Act and calling for limits on what he described as excessive card fees. He said the changes could save each US household about $1,200 a year. Trump did not specify a proposed fee ceiling or implementation date, leaving the scale and timing of any policy shift unresolved.
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The history behind this eventTrump Again Backs Bill to Cut Credit Card Swipe Fees
U.S. merchants pay interchange fees to card-issuing banks whenever customers use credit cards, with Visa and Mastercard controlling more than 80% of the domestic card-network market. The charges are generally embedded in retail prices, making the issue a major contest between merchants and the payments industry. Credit-card swipe fees totaled $148.5 billion in 2024, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition. Retail groups favor greater routing competition, while banks warn that lower fee income could weaken rewards programs and fraud prevention.
President Donald Trump on Jan. 13 again urged support on Truth Social for Republican Senator Roger Marshall’s Credit Card Competition Act, calling swipe fees an “out of control” ripoff. Introduced that day as S. 3623 in the Senate and H.R. 7035 in the House, the bipartisan measure would require card issuers with more than $100 billion in assets to enable at least two unaffiliated processing networks. Merchants could then route transactions outside Visa or Mastercard, seeking lower fees through competition rather than a direct price cap.
Trump’s State of the Union Focuses on Housing Affordability and Financial Regulation
High U.S. home prices and borrowing costs have made it difficult for first-time buyers to compete with Wall Street institutions paying entirely in cash, turning housing affordability into a central economic issue ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Trump has also sought changes in the payments market, advocating a one-year cap of 10% on annual credit card interest rates and backing the Credit Card Competition Act, which would limit interchange fees and affect revenue for banks and retailers.
In his February 24, 2026, State of the Union address, Trump said mortgage rates had fallen to a four-year low and that the annual cost of a typical new mortgage was nearly $5,000 lower than when he took office. He also urged Congress to make permanent a January 20 executive order restricting large institutional investors from buying single-family homes. The speech did not revisit the proposed 10% credit card rate cap or the card-fee legislation, leaving the related regulatory measures awaiting congressional action.
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