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				<p>WELLSVILLE  "Charge it."</p><p>To most consumers, using a credit or debit card is a normal daily activity that simplifies their shopping experience, but for millions of small business owners, it has become a costly venture, and local business leaders converged on the nation's capital last week to address the issue.</p><p>Candy Bangor, representing Nemenz Enterprizes; Beverly Hentzell, owner of Air Waves; Rick Holt, manager of Wellsville Save-A-Lot; John Lauva, business manager of Ohio River Bread Co.; and Dave and Shirley Marshall, owners of Coffee Fusion in East Liverpool went to Washington on a "swipe fee fly-in" as guests of the Retail Industry Leaders Association.</p><p>There, they joined others in urging Congress and the Federal Reserve to support a "swipe fee" amendment that they said protects small business against exorbitant fees they pay each time someone uses a credit or debit card in their stores.</p><p>The Consumer Protection Act signed into law last July includes reforms small business owners believe will rein in excessive "swipe fees," but as the Federal Reserve continues to determine just what those fees will be, lobbyists from large banking institutions and credit card companies are trying to weaken the reform, according to the local contingent.</p><p>"They can charge whatever they want, and it keeps going up," Hentzell complained.</p><p>She and her husband, Lonnie, operate their small shop on Main Street and said such expenses keep them and other small businessmen from hiring employees or expanding.</p><p>Bangor said 90 percent of business owners in Washington said swipe fees constitute the second or third largest overhead expense they pay, only after labor and utility costs.</p><p>She offered as an example the Wellsville Save-A-Lot, where already this year, $6,175 has been paid by the business for allowing customers to pay by credit or debit.</p><p>Between January and February last year, that fee was $1,308, compared to $1,608 for the same period this year, showing how the cost has increased in a year, Bangor said, adding, "Swipe fees went up 300 percent over the past 10 years."</p><p>They said swipe fees net a total of between $10-12 billion a year for credit companies.</p><p>"They get us all; there is no negotiation," according to Dave Marshall, who said he pays a couple hundred dollars each month in swipe fees.</p><p>"If I had that extra $200 a month, I wouldn't have to raise coffee prices," he said.</p><p>In addition, Marshall was just notified that the credit card company will charge him an additional $21.95 April 1 for upgrades it will be making to the electronic merchant machine used to swipe credit and debit cards, also non-negotiable.</p><p>Although Marshall owns his machine, Hentzell pays a monthly $25 fee to lease hers, another credit-related expense.</p><p>Businesses can opt not to accept credit and debit cards, but that usually works to their detriment, according to these business leaders.</p><p>Marshall, for example, said he has one customer who only uses a credit card and said he could lose $1,000 a month in business if he didn't accept them.</p><p>A business is not permitted to refuse payment by a credit or debit card for a purchase if it, in fact, it is set up to accept them. No minimum credit card or debit purchase amount can be set, nor can a fee for their use be imposed, according to Marshall.</p><p>He said that, on a $1 cup of coffee paid for with credit, he is actually making between 13-14 cents after the swipe fee and monthly fee are deducted.</p><p>Hentzell said $275,000 per day is being spent on advertising against credit card amendments.</p><p>In Washington, the local contingent attended a press conference and spoke one-on-one with congressional aids for Sherrod Brown and Jim Renacci, who they said is against the amendment proposed by Sen. Dick Durbin.</p><p>Bangor said Renacci opposes the amendment because it is government intrusion.</p><p>She got the impression Brown is in favor but said there is "no urgency to give small business any relief."</p><p>Saying they think they made some headway, these six representatives are urging other small business owners to write their legislators, letting them know what this is doing to their businesses.</p><p>Bangor said she received last-minute notice about the fly-in from RILA, which paid all expenses, including air fare, lodging and meals, for the contingent.</p><p>She tried to contact as many Wellsville businesses as possible to entice owners to attend, even leaving information with the mayor's office to be forwarded to the chamber of commerce in the hope members would go on the trip but none were able to make it.</p><p>Back  home, Hentzell said "reform swipe fee" signs may be given to businesses to post, and Bangor said she hopes to invite U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson to attend a town meeting to speak with small business owners.</p><p>"I don't know where he stands, but it would be good for him to hear how this is affecting small business," she said.</p><p><a href="mailto:jgilbert@mojonews.com">jgilbert@mojonews.com</a></p> 				&#13;
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