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I'm Andrew Ohlbaum of Safeway Lifts in Ronkonkoma, and I'm one of many small business owners who's grateful for everyone who stood up for swipe fee reform.
The past year has been a roller coaster for small business owners, full of ups and downs. Following last week's vote to turn down an attempt to delay swipe fee reform, spirits on Main Street are especially high.
Last year, Senator Durbin championed an amendment to rein in excessive debit card swipe fees to ensure that these fees are reasonable and proportional to the actual cost of each transaction. In the months since, provisions of Senator Durbin's amendment have been under attack -- but have managed to survive several tests. This has been tremendous for small businesses that have suffered for years due to unfair and excessive swipe fees. |
| Essentially, a swipe fee is incurred each time a customer pays with plastic. Over the years, these fees have increased drastically. In fact, over the past decade, swipe fees have increased more than 500%! Under the Durbin Amendment, which was signed into law as part of the Dodd-Frank Act last year, the Federal Reserve has the authority to regulate these fees, and has proposed that they be limited to no more than 12 cents (a far cry from the average of 44 cents currently being charged).
But over the past 12 months, big banks and credit card companies have engaged in an aggressive and costly lobbying campaign to overturn this reform, which would be detrimental to my business and my community. As a result of their efforts, Senators Tester and Corker sponsored an amendment that, if passed, would have delayed swipe fee reform -- a move that would have cost small businesses and consumers across the nation nearly $14 billion each year.
Luckily, Senators stood behind their promise to reform a broken and unfair system and voted against the amendment. While I am disappointed that my Senators did not vote against the Tester-Corker Amendment, I look forward to working with them in the years to come to create an environment in New York that helps businesses succeed and enables them to benefit from healthy competition and a prosperous marketplace. By working with other New York small business owners to send letters and make phone calls to our Senators, I hope to help educate them about the impact that swipe fees have on our businesses, and how reform would help our bottom lines.
What reform means for my businesses is that I would be able to hire more workers, contribute to local community programs and events, and have additional funds to create optimal customer service by having a full staff and competitive prices. Debit card reform would truly be a win-win for small businesses and consumers, and I look forward to working with my Senators and Representatives to making reform become a reality. |
