For many, many years the power of the Big Oil brands was indisputable. They owned the refineries, the stations and the credit card networks to boot. While my father was an Exxon dealer and jobber for more than 30 years I distinctly remember seeing Shell and Texaco credit cards lying around the house. In those…
Swipe Fee Vote Pending Today
NACS is urging retailers to call their Senators in one final push before the 2p.m. EST vote. Today, June 8, at 2 p.m. EST, the Senate is set to vote on an amendment by Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), which seeks to delay and effectively kill swipe fee reform. The debate ( happening now) and the…
Swipe Fee Reform Safe
It’s a huge victory for convenience store retailers and merchants across the U.S. today, as the Senate rejected an amendment offered by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Bob Corker (R-TN) to delay swipe fee reform. The vote was 54-45 in favor of the Tester-Corker amendment, six short of the 60 needed to delay swipe fee…
NACS Responds As Debit Card Reform Passes Final Barrier
The Senate’s rejection of an amendment offered by Senators Jon Tester (D-MT) and Bob Corker (R-TN) demonstrates the power of consumer and retail industry advocacy efforts and is a major victory for the convenience and fuel retailing industry, said NACS Chairman Jeff Miller. The Tester-Corker amendment needed 60 votes for passage in the Senate, however…
Swipe Fee Fight Returns To Capital Hill
“We’re not looking for a free ride. What we’re looking for is fair and reasonable,” notes 7-Eleven Franchisee Dennis Lane. Thursday, Feb. 17, marks the eighth public hearing on debit and credit card swipe fees. The hearing, scheduled for 10 a.m. is set to be held in the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer…
Federal Ruling ’Positive Step’ in Swipe Fee Reform
The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) called the Dec. 16 release of the Federal Reserve’s proposed rulemaking related to debit card swipe fees a “positive step” and said it will continue to push for the reforms demanded by Congress and consumers alike. While no interchange fees should be allowed on debit transactions, the Fed’s…
The Fight for Interchange Reform Continues
The long and winding road to controlling credit card fees took yet another turn on Oct. 12, 2010, when TCF National Bank, a subsidiary of TCF Financial Corp., filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Durbin Amendment, which was included in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, also known…
What’s Next With Swipe Fees?
“Since credit cards were introduced more than 60 years ago, no one dared step in to challenge the powerful banks. We did. And we got change,” said NACS President and CEO Hank Armour in his Opening General Session address on Oct. 6 at the NACS Show. NACS’ “audacious goal” to fight swipe fees, said Armour,…
Deadline Day is Here
A baker puts two muffins in an oven. The first muffin turns to the other and says, “Boy it’s hot in here.” The second muffin screams, “Yikes, a talking muffin.” Hopefully convenience store chains are not nearly this surprised when it comes to this month’s PCI deadlines. However, at the NACStech conference in April, several…
Securing the Store
C-store operators are increasingly turning to advanced electronics to help stem the time of theft both internally and externally, including “smart” surveillance cameras and Internet-based security systems that can prompt and warn cashiers and track and record every store transaction. Stuart Levine, CEO of The Zellman Group in Port Washington, N.Y., a nationwide retail and…