7-Eleven franchisees from around the country last week rolled out an accountability campaign to hold Congress responsible for their lack of action to reform for unfair credit-card interchange or “swipe” fees. Last summer, nearly 1.7 million 7-Eleven customers signed petitions demanding legislative intervention. More recently, an additional two million customers at other convenience stores nationwide signed similar petitions, creating an outcry from almost four million.
Almost a year ago, thousands of 7-Eleven franchisees asked customers to support their neighborhood stores by signing petitions calling for Congress to pass legislation prohibiting credit-card networks and card-issuing banks from charging unfair, hidden transaction fees. This year the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) collected another round of signatures.