Furor over fees is concocted ‘chaos’

Credit card giants are trying to scare you about a new Illinois law banning “swipe fees” on taxes and tips starting July 1.

Turn on the TV or any streaming service and you might see a panicked advertisement about so-called “credit card chaos” in Illinois. The ad might even try to convince you that your credit or debit card might not work starting July 1 because of a new state law! Can you imagine?

These claims are false. Banks and credit card companies are trying to scare you because Illinois passed a first-of-its-kind law to ban credit card companies from charging hidden fees — commonly known as “swipe fees” — on any taxes and tips, which affects their bottom line.

You’re probably familiar with the fine print at the checkout saying something about a 3% surcharge for credit card payments. This is specifically to cover the cost of swipe fees. Small businesses at the mercy of credit card giants often have no choice but to pass these costs onto us — the consumers.

Year after year, credit card giants raise these fees with no relief for the merchants and customers they impact. In 2022, Visa and MasterCard implemented fee increases that cost retailers billions. While people struggled with rising inflation, they increased fees again in October 2023, January 2025 and January 2026. How are small businesses expected to keep up? That’s why I introduced the original swipe fee ban in February 2021. It started the conversation that eventually led to the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act, which was signed into law June 7, 2024.

In a win for Main Street businesses, a federal judge upheld the swipe fee ban earlier this year after financial corporations tried to knock the law down in court. Now, with the ban in place come July 1, there will be fewer hidden fees at the checkout for everyone.

The economy has been upended by the Trump administration’s excursions at home and across the globe. People are feeling the pressure everywhere from the grocery store to the gas pump to their insurance premiums — and every step Illinois takes to curb costs makes a big difference.

State Sen. Cristina Castro

Elgin