Travel perks, cash back and flight points can be big benefits of having a credit card. But what if we told you they could go away?
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Travel perks, cash back and flight points can be big benefits of having a credit card. But what if we told you they could go away?
A federal bill could have a far-reaching impact on your account. Ashley Fathergill will tell you there is always an upside.
“We’re really working to kind of push the boundaries to get into the Southwest region, more widely known,” said Ashley Fathergill, owner of Upside Goods Co.
As Fathergill’s business grows, so do the challenges of running it, like credit card processing fees.
Fathergill says those fees hover around 3% of every transaction, adding up to thousands every year.
“I always have the mentality if I’m going to complain about something enough, and I have to be willing to go and do the work to flip the script on it,” Fathergill said.
That work brought her to Washington, DC last week. She spent days educating herself on how federal decisions trickle down to her and her customers.
“There are things that are happening on the hill that really do affect the way that we do our day-to-day business, that we can know enough to be informed, but not also just overwhelmed and overconsumed,” said Fathergill.
She learned about the Durbin-Marshall Bill potentially coming up for a vote next month. On the surface, it aims to make the credit card processing market more competitive. Banks would have to offer at least one network outside Visa and Mastercard for businesses to process transactions.
“It basically really affects the way in which we as consumers and small businesses use credit cards,” said Fathergill.
If the market is more competitive, bill supports say swipe fees for businesses will go down and potentially cost consumers less.
“I went into this thinking, ‘Oh I want this to change, you know, we have major credit card corporations right now, and I think that it should be more competitive landscape.’ Then, it was really one of those things where you peel back the layer of the onion, and you’re like, ‘Oh well that would go away, or this would change,’” said Fathergill.
Like reward programs. Credit card issuers use swipe fees to fund the perks we all enjoy.
“If you have a credit card, this will affect you, no matter if you run a small business or just simply go to pay for groceries,” Fathergill said.
A good reminder is that sometimes, the upside isn’t so obvious.
“It definitely is something that we need to just kind of keep our finger on the pulse for, because it affects every single person that has a credit card,” said Fathergill.
KOB 4 reached out to senators Heinrich and Lujan about this bill but did not hear back.
Source: Proposed credit card rules could change fees and perks
