Episode

How Credit Card Swipe Fees Became Multibillion Dollar Tolls (Second Request)

Podcast: The Capitol Forum
Published: Jul 22, 2026
Duration seconds: 3740
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Summary

Today on Second Request , Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Carter Dougherty, senior fellow for anti-monopoly and finance at Demand Progress, who argues that Visa and Mastercard enable banks to coordinate pricing without ever explicitly agreeing to it — and makes the case for how the Credit Card Competition Act, ongoing antitrust litigation, and a more aggressive enforcement posture could finally break the duopoly's grip on the payments market.