VIEWPOINT | Let’s end the burden of swipe fees

Guest Column By Rep. Greg Jamison

Small businesses are a crucial lifeline for the State of South Dakota. According to the most recent estimates, nearly 100,000 small businesses operate in the state and provide livelihoods for more than half of the state’s employees. Maintaining a healthy small business environment is critical for both personal and our overall national prosperity. That is why our businesses deserve action from congressional leadership to help bring relief from the credit card swipe fees that eat away at profits and drive up costs for customers.

Merchants incur swipe fees every time a customer uses a credit card at their establishment. These fees have risen to outrageous levels and add many avoidable challenges for business owners. Swipe fees are now the second-largest operating expense for many merchants behind only payroll, leaving businesses with very little breathing room. Even here in Sioux Falls the impact could not be more evident, as you can find a credit card surcharge on everything from your check at a restaurant to the bill for a license plate renewal. No matter if you're a private business, a public agency, church or charity, every entity that accepts a credit card payment will incur swipe fees.

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The higher swipe fees climb, the more likely merchants become forced to raise their prices to compensate, ultimately hurting the consumers who patronize those merchants. Neither South Dakota’s businesses nor the families they support can afford to continue this unsustainable status quo that has seen more than $275 million sucked from our state economy.