How Have U.S. Card Fees Grown Since 2006?

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Breaking the Visa-Mastercard Duopoly: Bringing Competition and Lower Fees to the Credit Card System” is November 19, 2024, with both Visa and Mastercard likely testifying. This is the second hearing in three years wherein the committee hosts card networks and industry stakeholders.

The first Senate hearing on this issue with both Visa and Mastercard testifying was on July 19, 2006 – over 18 years ago. With credit card swipe fees still rising despite the introduction of measures to increase competition in the debit card market in 2011, we address the fundamental question: how much has been paid in U.S. Visa and Mastercard interchange fees since the 2006 hearing?

Interchange fees, along with card volume, have grown significantly from 2006 to today, with the U.S. representing one of the most expensive credit card markets in the world (Figure 1). In Europe and Australia, for example, credit card interchange fees are capped by regulation, with Europe’s credit interchange fee limited to 0.3% of the transaction value. U.S. credit card interchange fees are over 8x as high according to the CMSPI State of the Industry report.

Based on CMSPI estimates, U.S. merchants have paid a total average of over $1.1 trillion in Visa and Mastercard interchange fees from July 19, 2006 to November 19, 2024. In 2023 alone, CMSPI estimates that the total U.S. Visa and Mastercard credit card interchange and network fees totaled an estimated over $116 billion.