Senators on Both Sides Reprimand Visa, Mastercard Over Swipe Fees

‘The retailers and merchants across America have had it,’ Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said.

(L-R) Bill Sheedy, senior adviser to the CEO at Visa, and Linda Kirkpatrick, President of the Americas at Mastercard, are sworn in during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Breaking the Visa-Mastercard Duopoly: Bringing Competition and Lower Fees to the Credit Card System" on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Nov. 19, 2024. Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) accused Mastercard and Visa, which control 80 percent of the credit card market, of engaging in monopolistic behavior.

Visa and Mastercard executives were on defense during a Nov. 19 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, as lawmakers on both sides criticized their business practices, including so-called swipe fees.