Main Street

Over Swipe Street

Smiling woman working at a point-of-sale system in a restaurant kitchen, wearing a black shirt and cap with a logo.

If you own a business that

accepts credit cards,

you know the truth.

Processing fees are eating into your bottom line with every swipe. For most small businesses, these fees have become one of your highest operating costs after labor and inventory — often exceeding your profits.

The Fair SWIPE (Small businesses Working for Interchange Payment Equity) Coalition is working to level the playing field between Main Street and Wall Street by ending unfair credit card fees on sales tax and gratuities.

Icon of a white credit card inside a red rounded square with a corner cut off.

Every year, businesses pay

in swipe fees just for

collecting sales tax. 

A group of people dining in a restaurant, with a smiling woman in a red dress serving food, a young woman in a blue shirt holding a tray, and a woman in a green shirt eating at the table. The restaurant has a chalkboard menu and kitchen area in the background.
A woman smiling with her arms resting on a table, showcasing a cheeseburger on a tray in front of her, inside a restaurant with decorative patterned tiles on the wall in the background.

The Issue

  • Your business pays credit card fees just to collect taxes for state and local governments.

  • If you accept tips, credit card companies take a cut of your workers' gratuities.

  • These fees are among the fastest-growing costs for businesses like yours.

  • American businesses pay the highest credit card fees in the industrialized world.

  • Whether you run a restaurant, retail shop, hardware store, salon, or any other local business — these fees impact you daily.

Join the Fight