The following is an op-ed submitted to the Tega Cay Sun by Jamie Rivenbark, Owner of Jars Hospitality. We’re sharing this article as a public service. The opinions and comments expressed are solely those of the author. The TC Sun staff provided minor grammatical edits only. No opinions of our staff are expressed – TC Sun Editors
As the owner of a hospitality group with locations in North and South Carolina, I know from experience the benefits the existing credit card and electronic payments system offers. The current system helps us to streamline our operations, safely process transactions, and earn rewards to invest in our employees and back into the business. In addition, the current system also allows small businesses to earn rewards, which we have leveraged to stay afloat during the pandemic and used to invest in our employees.
Like many other businesses, Jars Hospitality Group depends on the security of electronic payments to efficiently and safely process payments. When our customers swipe or tap their credit cards at our restaurants, they are trusting us to make sure their financial information remains safe throughout the transaction. Thanks to the security that the current electronic payment system provides, we are able to better uphold our end of the bargain and maintain their trust. That’s why I’m deeply troubled by the proposed Credit Card Competition Act in Congress. This bill jeopardizes these very benefits, potentially driving up costs and hindering our ability to deliver the best experience to our customers.
In addition to security benefits, the rewards we earn from using cash back business cards helps us support our employees and reinvest into the growth of our business. Every business owner will say that their employees are their most valuable asset and investing in them is critical to our success. We’ve used credit card rewards points in a number of ways, including to offer health insurance to employees in one of the restaurants we used to own. Without our rewards points, we wouldn’t have been able to afford to do that. And when the pandemic hit the restaurant industry, we relied on rewards to stay afloat. The CCCA will put rewards points at risk, which will impact our bottom line and our ability to invest in the health and wellbeing of our employees.
Small businesses often run on smaller profit margins than large retailers. As a result, we applaud policies that will actually help us save money. However, research from the University of Miami debunks claims that the Credit Card Competition Act will help small businesses save money. Their analysis found that nearly all savings from the bill will go to retailers who have $500 million or more in annual sales, with little going to real small businesses like us.
The facts couldn’t be clearer: the proposed Credit Card Competition Act will actually take money straight out of our coffers. The research from the University of Miami estimates that small businesses like ours will lose over $1 billion dollars in cash back rewards. This will make running my small business more expensive and impact my ability to treat my employees to the benefits they need.
This flawed legislation will significantly impact small businesses like ours by hurting payment security and the rewards we need. We need Congress to prioritize policies that uplift us, not ones that strangle our growth and hurt our employees. I call on fellow small business owners to contact their Senators and Representatives to make sure this bill doesn’t become law.
