Reining in Swipe Fees:

NLBMDA Leads the Charge Pushing for Legislative and Legal Reform 

 As 2025 comes to a close, NLBMDA continues to advance advocacy efforts to address the growing burden of credit card swipe fees on lumber and building material dealers and the entire merchant community. 

This month, on Capitol Hill and in the courts, NLBMDA has been actively engaged in efforts to reform the broken credit card payment system that allows Visa and Mastercard to set interchange fees with little transparency, competition, or accountability. For many dealers, these fees now rank among the largest operating expenses, often surpassing costs such as utilities or equipment. Swipe fees have more than doubled over the past decade and have increased by roughly 70 percent since the onset of the pandemic, reaching a record $187.2 billion in 2024. During the current holiday season alone, credit card swipe fees are projected to generate more than $20 billion for Visa and Mastercard. 

Driving Legislative Reform: Credit Card Competition Act 



Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) are leading the push this Congress for the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) to become law. The Credit Card Competition Act would promote competition in the credit card market by requiring the nation’s largest issuing banks to enable at least two unaffiliated payment networks on each credit card, giving merchants a meaningful choice in how transactions are routed. By introducing competition at the point of sale, the legislation would help curb excessive swipe fees set by Visa and Mastercard with little oversight, increase transparency, and lower costs for businesses and consumers without affecting cardholders’ access to credit or rewards. 

NLBMDA Advocacy on Capitol Hill and in the Courts 

Last week, NLBMDA government affairs staff participated in full slate of meetings with Senate offices from across the country, including offices in states such as West Virginia and Arkansas, to make the case for the legislation. In these meetings, NLBMDA highlighted the real-world impact of escalating swipe fees on lumber and building material dealers and the customers they serve. NLBMDA also emphasized the bipartisan nature of the Credit Card Competition Act, its role in introducing competition and transparency into the payments market, and the importance of reforms that would lower costs and allow businesses to reinvest in their employees and communities. 

Addressing credit card swipe fees has been a longstanding legislative focus for NLBMDA. This issue has been included as a priority in multiple past fly-ins, including last April’s Spring Meeting and Legislative Conference, when more than 50 dealers came to Washington to share firsthand examples of how rising swipe fees have affected their businesses. Members highlighted the impact on operating costs, cash flow, and the ability to reinvest in employees and local communities, giving Congress concrete evidence of the urgent need for reform. 

While advocating for reform on Capitol Hill, NLBMDA is also simultaneously engaging in the courts to ensure dealers have a voice as a federal judge reviews a pending swipe fee settlement announced by Visa and Mastercard, an agreement with broad implications for the merchant community. NLBMDA submitted a letter to the federal judge considering the agreement, raising the issue that the proposed settlement would provide little meaningful relief for merchants.  

In our letter, NLBMDA expressed concern that the proposed settlement does not fully address the structural issues that contribute to rising swipe fees, including the way interchange rates are established and applied broadly across the credit card system. While the agreement includes a limited, short-term reduction in fees, our letter stresses the point the current proposed agreement would leave in place many existing policies that limit merchant’s ability to negotiate with card issuers. The proposed settlement agreement has been opposed by several national trade associations, including the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Restaurant Association, and the National Retail Federation, reflecting broader concerns across the business community about whether the agreement would provide lasting relief or meaningfully change a system that has allowed swipe fees to increase over time with limited transparency. 

Working in partnership with the Merchant Payments Coalition, NLBMDA is advocating for a settlement that delivers meaningful, long-term improvements and greater balance in the payments system, ensuring that dealers have a fairer opportunity to manage costs and reinvest in their employees, operations, and local communities. 

Get Involved: Make Your Voice Heard in Washington

If you’re interested in helping shape federal policy that impacts the lumber and building materials industry, NLBMDA invites you to participate in our 2026 Spring Meeting & Legislative Conference, March 17–18 in Washington, D.C. This two-day premier event offers dealers the chance to meet directly with members of Congress, hear from policy experts, and engage in discussions that advance the industry’s advocacy agenda. 

New this year, NLBMDA’s Dealers to D.C. grant program provides ten $750 awards to help cover conference registration, hotel, and travel expenses, ensuring that a broader range of dealer voices can be represented on Capitol Hill. Applications are open now, with a priority deadline of December 19, 2025, with a final application deadline on January 5, 2026. Award recipients will be announced shortly thereafter. 

Don’t miss this opportunity to share your experiences, amplify your voice, and help drive meaningful change for your business, your employees, and the communities you serve.

Register for Leg Con or apply for a Dealers to D.C. grant today!

For questions, please reach out to NLBMDA’s Government Affairs Coordinator, Matthew Delaney at mdelaney@dealer.org