Idaho Convenience Stores Claim Debit Card Fees Are Stealing Their Business

Boise, IDAfter a meeting with several convenience store owners, Idaho Senator Mike Crapo vowed to look into problems related to fees and charges from the usage of regular and prepaid debit cards.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Attending the meeting were Charley Jones and Pat Lewis, owners of a pair of local convenience store chains, and John Eichberger of the National Association of Convenience Stores, who presented Senator Crapo with a petition signed by 24,000 Idahoans declaring their concerns over the country's swipe fees.

These fees include fixed charge for each swipe plus a percentage of the purchase price appended to every sale, creating what the Boise Weekly refers to as a "seemingly endless upswing" of charges that cut into a store's revenue.

"Much to our chagrin, we're paying more in swipe fees than we are making in profit," Lewis told the news provider. "We're all for free markets and all for capitalism, but as it is now, the current system isn't reflective of either of those systems."

A representative for Crapo's office recently told the Idaho Reporter that the senator will push for fee changes as a part of Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd's upcoming financial sector reform bill.