7-Eleven® Goes to Battle with Congress

Last week 7-Eleven, Inc. President and CEO Joe DePinto and a number of Franchisees from around the country visited Capitol Hill to call on Congress to reform unfair and excessive credit card transaction fees. 7-Eleven stores across the country collected more than 1.6 million signatures supporting the company's "Stop Unfair Credit Card Fees" petition drive. Contained in 130 boxes, the top signature-collecting franchisees and their field consultants delivered the petitions to the office of their congressmen and plead their case for fair transaction fee legislation. This signature drive is believed to be the largest for a public-policy issue to date.

(Pictured: 7-Eleven CEO Joe DePinto speaks during a press conference Sept. 30, 2009, at the Taft Memorial on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.)

The 7-Eleven million-signature petition drive ran from June 22 through Aug. 10 at store counters coast to coast.

DePinto, Dennis Lane, chairman of the Coalition of 7-Eleven Franchise Owners Associations; Navdeep Bassi, Costa Mesa, Calif., Franchisee and president of the California Franchise Political Action Committee, were joined on stage at a press conference Sept. 30 at the Taft Memorial on Capitol Hill by National Association of Convenience Stores President Hank Armour and two House lawmakers.

Rep. Peter Welch (D., VT), and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D., CA) have sponsored legislation aimed at putting a lid on the fees. Offering support for the petition delivery event, House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D., MI) said he commends the 7-Eleven customers who signed the petitions.

"In 2008, the average U.S. family paid an estimated $427 in interchange fees, nearly triple the amount the paid in 2001," Conyers said. "I hope these petitions provide the momentum necessary to address this important issue."

The fees are an important source of revenue for many banks, but retailers claim the fees are a hidden tax on consumers. Financial groups argue the bill is misguided and the campaign against fees is not about protecting small retailers.

"We've sat down with these guys before," said DePinto at the rally. "It's not a discussion. It's not a fair negotiation."

In a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the bill Thursday, Oct. 8, House lawmakers challenged credit card fee increases. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.) argued that so-called "swipe fees" were "outrageous." Frank and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D., N.Y.), have introduced legislation that would accelerate new rules by two months, putting them in place by Dec. 1. Banks have requested extra time to comply with the new rules, but Franks says time isn't the problem.
Other panel members said Thursday they were interested to learn more about how changes to interchange fees would affect consumers directly. The debate comes as the Financial Services panel plans to vote on legislation creating a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency as early as next week.