The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has called on the government and the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) to ensure that changes to card fees are “clearer, more predicable and subject to proper scrutiny”.
It comes after the trade body responded to the PSR’s consultation on card scheme and processing fees. It said it welcomed proposals to improve transparency and strengthen governance, but warned these measures alone “would not address the fundamental lack of competition in the market”.
As a result, the ACS has urged the PSR to “fully implement” the transparency and pricing governance remedies, and called on the government to go further by keeping a cap on scheme and processing fees under active consideration to help curb the upward pressure on costs.
”Customers expect to be able to pay by card, meaning retailers cannot realistically opt out or negotiate the fees,” the ACS said. “With tight margins and high volume, low value transactions, even small, incremental fee increases quickly accumulate, directly hitting the viability of local shops.”
ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Convenience retailers want to offer customers a wide choice of ways to pay, but they operate in a market where card scheme fees are unavoidable and continue to rise without clear justification,”
“Transparency and stronger governance are welcome, but they won’t stop costs rising year after year. To make this market work for businesses and consumers, the regulator must be ready to go further – including keeping a cap on scheme and processing fees firmly on the table.”
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