Earlier this month, OHI was in Washington, D.C., joined by 22 campground owners and operators, to advocate for critical legislation that impacts the small businesses they represent. For more than three years, OHI has been pushing for the passage of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), a bipartisan amendment aimed at increasing competition in credit card fees.
Twelve of the 22 OHI members on this Hill visit were first-time advocates, showing strong new momentum from across the industry. The group overall represented 20 states on this issue.
OHI’s Chief Strategy Officer, David Basler, and Government Affairs Strategist, Andrew Mills, led the charge alongside members to push for the CCCA’s inclusion in the GENIUS Act, a Senate bill focused on cryptocurrency regulation.
Co-Sponsors of the CCCA, Senators Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., last month had introduced an amendment that would have made the CCCA part of the GENIUS Act, which would establish a regulatory framework for stablecoins. The Senate rarely allows amendments to legislation, however, and on June 11 senators approved a procedural motion to move forward with the GENIUS Act, effectively cutting off consideration of amendments.
The Credit Card Competition Act gained an incredible amount of support and momentum during the Senate’s consideration of the GENIUS Act, so OHI and its coalition partners will continue the fight in Washington, pushing for passage of this important legislation.
“In the past several weeks we have seen a tremendous outpouring of demand that Congress address soaring credit card swipe fees that drive up the price of nearly everything consumers buy,” said David Basler, OHI’s SVP of Government Affairs. “The Outdoor Hospitality Industry and our coalition of small businesses has been joined by military stores, Native American tribes and four of the nation’s largest unions that have all said the time for swipe fee reform has come. Merchants and consumers have been seeking relief from these high fees for years and we won’t give up until the credit card industry has to compete over swipe fees the same way small businesses like RV parks and campgrounds have to compete every day.”
OHI members from across the country also sent in almost 350 letters and made a significant number of phone calls to senators asking for action.
Those endorsements come in addition to support from almost 2,000 companies and nearly 300 trade associations as well as a broad group of consumer, labor and pro-competition organizations.
“Many OHI members have traveled to D.C. for our recent fly-ins, have engaged grassroots and grasstops campaigns, signed on to letters, and helped us grow our network of supporters on this issue and because of all of you, we are now in a better position than ever to get the Credit Card Competition Act passed,” Basler says.
Credit and debit card swipe fees – which have risen 70% since the pandemic and reached a record $187.2 billion in 2024 – are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor. The fees are far too high to absorb, especially for small merchants, and drive up consumer prices by nearly $1,200 a year for the average family. Swipe fees paid in each state and the amount saved under the CCCA are available here.
Visa and Mastercard – which control 80% of the market – each centrally set the swipe fees charged by banks that issue cards under their brands and block transactions from being processed over other networks that could do the job with lower fees and better security. The legislation would require banks with at least $100 billion in assets to enable cards they issue to be processed over at least two unaffiliated networks – Visa or Mastercard plus a competitor like NYCE, Star or Shazam.
Banks would choose which networks to enable but merchants would then choose which to use, resulting in competition over fees, security and service that is expected to save merchants and consumers $17 billion a year. Rewards would not be affected, security would be improved, consumers would still use the same cards, and community banks and all but one credit union would be exempt.
“Our members represent small businesses that operate on razor-thin margins and credit card fees are one of their largest and fastest-growing expenses,” Basler says. “This legislation will help level the playing field by introducing competition and putting choice back in the hands of our members saving them an expected 15% annually on credit card fees.”
“As for what the future holds—our coalition is strong, and it is growing in support every day. OHI members are seeing the work the OHI government affairs team is doing on their behalf in Washington, and they are joining the fight because they are tired of paying exorbitant credit card fees while VISA and Mastercard and the biggest banks in the country make billions each year. This is a David vs Goliath issue and we are on the right side of the fight. David will win (again).”
For more information or to get involved in advocacy efforts, visit ohi.org/advocacy/.
Want to participate in advocacy efforts on the Hill? Submit your interest for a future fly-in event.
