Wednesday, Sep 25, 2024 – Posted by Rich Miller

* Tulchin is a legit pollster which does lots of work for the House Democrats. The poll, however, has some pretty leading questions. Illinois Retail Merchants Association press release…

A recent poll found more than 70% of Illinois voters support banning interchange fees or “swipe fees” on the tax and tip portion of credit card transactions. The poll of 800 Illinois voters, conducted by Tulchin Research/Impact Research, showed overwhelming public support for the new Illinois law, with respondents agreeing that swipe fees are unfair to businesses and workers and lead to higher prices for consumers.

Illinois recently passed the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, which prohibits banks and credit card companies from charging swipe fees on the state and local sales tax and tip portion of a sales transaction when the consumer pays with a credit or debit card. Credit card companies and financial institutions currently charge the retailers and restaurants a fee when consumers use cards, based on the total transaction amount of the goods, tax and any tip. Credit card companies are still able to charge the interchange fee for the purchase price of the product. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act will lower the amount that credit card companies can charge retailers and save businesses and consumers millions of dollars a year.

Key findings of the poll, which was taken September 6 through September 11, include:

• 86% of voters agree that it is unfair for banks and credit card companies to charge businesses swipe fees on the sales tax they collect for the state of Illinois and local government.
• 82% agree that it is unfair to workers and businesses to charge swipe fees on top of their tips.
• 84% of voters agree that excessive swipe fees charged to businesses end up being paid by consumers in higher prices.

The survey found support is broad-based and strongly backed by voters across the state and political spectrum. Additionally, the majority of voters disagree with the false assertion by banks and credit card companies that the swipe fee prohibition will hurt consumers by limiting their ability to use credit cards and shortchanging them on credit card rewards points.

“The idea that banning swipe fees would harm consumers is completely false, and this poll shows that voters see through those claims. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act will provide tangible relief to Illinois families and retailers of all sizes and types by limiting the fees financial institutions can charge on the sales and excise tax and tips portion of transactions,” said Rob Karr, president and CEO, Illinois Retail Merchants Association. “It’s no surprise that a majority of Illinois voters support this commonsense measure to keep costs low for consumers and help small businesses save money, grow, and create jobs.”

* Response…

Joint Statement from Illinois Bankers Association Ben Jackson and Illinois Credit Union League Ashley Sharp:

“Today’s poll and press conference from the retailers was nothing more than a smokescreen. The survey clearly failed to inform consumers that this law will cause chaos every time they use a credit or debit card and no amount of spin from the retailers will change that.

“Besides violating a host of federal laws as our legal complaint makes clear, this law does absolutely nothing for consumers. It doesn’t mean bigger tips for workers, or that workers get to keep more of their tips. In fact, it could incentivize people not to leave a tip at all. And the law doesn’t raise a single dollar for the state of Illinois. It simply forces banks, credit unions, small businesses and everyone at the check-out counter to navigate a needlessly complex new system that rewards the state’s largest retail stores. No one else in the world has adopted this approach, and for good reason.”

Discuss.