Swipe Fees Overseas

How other countries have dealt with swipe fees:

Australia

In a 2007-2008 review, the Reserve Bank of Australia estimated that the reduction in swipe fees saved merchants $1.1 billion in Australian dollars (or $960 million in American dollars) in the previous year.

European Union

Cross-border swipe fees have been the focus of attention. MasterCard agreed to reduce its cross-border rates by about half, to a cap of 0.3% -- less than one-sixth the average U.S. rate.

New Zealand

Merchants can now apply surcharges to payments made by specific types of credit cards.

SOURCE: Merchant Payments Coalition