Merchant Group Exec: Visa Chief's Call Against Price-Fixing Rings Hollow

Visa Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Joseph Saunders states in his February 1 op-ed, "Proposed Debit Rules Would Harm All," that "price fixing is bad public policy." Yet Mr. Saunders runs the nation's largest financial services price-fixing operation.  Visa publishes scores of debit and credit card interchange rates for its member banks. And based on those rates, those thousands of supposed "competitors" charge exactly the same amount for any given type of card and circumstance. That is not a free market. That is price fixing.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Mr. Saunders calls upon the banking industry to do everything in its power to stop Congress and the Federal Reserve from opening his cartel up to some transparency and competition.

Mr. Saunders says implementing the Federal Reserve's proposed guidelines on debit card rates would be "complex and expensive and will probably require changes throughout the payments marketplace, from the point of sale to even the smallest issuer." This is a surprising statement coming from a company that has never evidenced any difficulty raising rates and fees to merchants and consumers year in, year out, at the drop of a hat.

Congress has spoken. It's time for Mr. Saunders and others in the banking industry to stop begging for a do-over and focus on the transparency, competition and fairness that would benefit the card industry, retailers and consumers alike.

Mallory Duncan
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
National Retail Federation