Sunday, October 30, 2005

Last year's $26 billion hidden consumer tax expected to skyrocket


If you thought $26 billion in annual merchant interchange fees was way too high, that indignity is perched on the launch pad and about to skyrocket.

In a statement today, the editors of The Credit Card Interchange Report: WayTooHigh.com warned that the lofty bank earnings are corroborating a frightening new hold up on Americans with even greater intensity.

What distinguishes this assault and economic threat on consumers and an old-fashion, 1800s-style train robbery is that few understand this prowl.

Visa and MasterCard, which are owned by the leading banks are eclipsing even the audacious oil industry’s record assault on consumers. The prevailing sentiment is now that the windfall gains from merchants credit card fees are expected to rocket upwards.

The banks $26 billion windfall will be eclipsed by new results due to higher gas prices, warned The Credit Card Interchange Report: WayTooHigh.com

Because the banks get a piece of the action from motorists credit and debit card charges -- and with companies like ExxonMobil reporting sales of a billion dollars a day -- the ingredients are there to break records. With unbridled access to fix the prices that retailers pay, the banks could fetch billions more.

[source: WayTooHigh.com]