A new survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association found that a strong majority of U.S. consumers are happy with their credit cards and do not want the government to interfere with their card’s rewards programs. The survey, unveiled on the second day of ABA’s 2025 Washington Summit, also gauged consumers’ views on debit interchange fees paid by retailers.
Ninety-four percent of consumers said that they value the convenience of using their credit cards, and eight in 10 (80%) have at least one credit card that offers rewards, according to the survey. Nine in 10 (91%) said they value the rewards program on their credit cards, and nearly two-thirds (63%) of consumers say they would be disappointed to lose the rewards program on their credit cards due to government regulatory changes, a potential threat in the current Congress. By an overwhelming margin (74% agree vs. 8% disagree), consumers believe merchants and retailers get significant benefit from being able to accept credit cards for payment.
“This new survey data makes one thing crystal clear – consumers greatly value their credit cards and the rewards programs that come with them and don’t support heavy-handed government actions that could take them away,” ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said. “Legislative initiatives to expand the power of the federal government to intervene in the U.S. credit card market such as the Durbin-Marshall bill introduced last Congress would only reduce consumer choice while increasing costs and fraud risks. Congress should continue to reject this flawed legislation and listen to consumers.”
Responsibility for accepting card payments
U.S. adults overwhelmingly believe that retailers should be responsible for the costs associated with accepting credit card and debit card purchases. By a five-to-one margin (66% vs. 13%), consumers say that retailers should pay for the convenience and infrastructure to offer customers the ability to use a credit or debit card for purchase, as opposed to those who say retailers should charge customers for using a credit or debit card. Two-thirds (66%) are less likely to shop at a retailer or restaurant if they add a surcharge for using a credit or debit card. In addition, seven in 10 (69%) said they would oppose lowering debit interchange fees for retailers if it meant banks would have to increase fees for checking accounts.
“Consumers are well aware that America’s large retailers benefit greatly from accepting card payments and are willing to take their business elsewhere if retailers try to make them shoulder the cost,” Nichols said. “Year after year, the story is the same. Merchants do not want to pay their fair share for the many benefits our modern payments system affords them including secure, guaranteed payment, customer convenience, faster checkout, and lower fraud costs. And even after the Federal Reserve imposed a price cap on debit interchange rates, merchants and retailers failed to lower prices for their customers at the register.”
ABA released an accompanying infographic highlighting some of the survey results.
