Friday, June 24, 2011  Thursday, June 16, 2011  Monday, June 13,
2011  Credit/Debit Card Swipe Fees  I applaud the Senate for
passing legislation to cap credit and debit card swipe fees for
businesses at $.12 per swipe; the current average is $.44 per
swipe. For small business, I see this as a big win and a
potential boost in confidence. Some who are skeptical of the
legislation's benefits are focusing too much on how the bill may
bring about lower prices; their argument is that the change is
much too small for businesses to lower prices a significant
amount. In a sense, these critics are correct. However, they are
not seeing the bigger picture of how this move may help local
economies as well as the United States economy as a whole.
Let's say the typical small business sees an average of ten
swipes a day(probably a very conservative estimate) at the
current average of $.44 per swipe; this amounts to $1, 478.40
for the entire year, assuming that the ten swipes a day is a
constant. By cutting the swipe fees a