Later this week, Congress will be discussing the bipartisan Credit Card Fee Act, now in committee.  Franchisees and store operators of the popular chain 7-Eleven have been collecting signatures for a petition they will present to Congress as evidence of massive discontent regarding bloated interchange fees. CEO of 7-Eleven Joe Depinto says, “Customers share our frustration over the hidden fees that American retailers and, ultimately, consumers are forced to pay. They, too, want Congress to take action to regulate these unfair fees, which are the highest in the industrialized world.”

Credit card companies’ rules state that retailers must accept cards everywhere and sometimes without a minimum amount, the case with 7-Eleven.  As a result, the chain ends up losing money on some lower quantity purchases. And it’s not just the big chain that is hurting, convenience stores all across America are losing money from fees in an already tight economy. The National Association of Convenience Stores reports that credit card fees are up over 10.5% since 2007, with the industry paying $8.4 billion last year.

7-Eleven claims that its petition represents the largest quantity of signatures ever presented to Congress for a public policy issue, trumping even the 1.3 million signatures presented to Congress for healthcare reform. Representatives such as franchisee Hitesh Patel will be flying into D.C. for the hearing.  Mr. Patel collected over 3,000 signatures at a store in Florida, even going door-to-door to ask for support. “People don’t know about these fees and they are shocked,” he says.