With a base of over 6,300 U.S. stores 7-Eleven Inc. is hoping to send a strong message to Washington and the credit card industry by collecting over 1 million signatures on a petition calling for Congress to fight credit card fees.
The Dallas-based convenience store operator is calling for Congress to change what the chain says are unfair and excessive credit card transaction fees.
Credit card companies charge retailers a fee for every transaction, a practice the National Retail Federation also continues to fight. The fee remains in place no matter the size of the purchase and the NRF contends that retailers have no real power to negotiate the fees.
According to information recently released by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) the fees for convenience stores alone totaled $8.4 billion last year, up 10.5 percent from 2007. That’s more than the $5.2 billion the industry made in profit NACS claims. 7-Eleven adds that the they alone paid over $160 million to credit card companies last year.
The petitions are prominently displayed at 7-Eleven checkout counters.
