Washington, D.C. — As executives from some of the nation’s largest financial institutions prepare to testify before Congress, the Lower Credit Card Fees Coalition today called on banks to end price gouging through high interest rates, credit card fees and other charges that drive up costs for consumers.

“With banks swimming in near-record profits, it’s time they stop price gouging American families who are struggling to make ends meet,” coalition Executive Committee member and American Economic Liberties Project Director of Policy and Advocacy Morgan Harper said. “Whether it’s interest rates, credit card swipe fees, late fees or other charges, banks repeatedly take as much money as they can from consumers and small businesses just because they can. It’s not fair and only Congress can stop them.”

Harper said credit card “swipe” fees – the 2-4% of the purchase price that banks charge to process transactions – are particularly egregious.

“Swipe fees double dip, driving up costs for small business and, in turn, prices for consumers,” Harper added. “On top of that, they automatically go up as prices go up, multiplying the impact of inflation. They’re too much for small businesses to absorb and end up costing the average family over $1,000 a year in higher prices. With all the other money banks are raking in, they could easily lower swipe fees and continue to provide generous rewards and cover security costs.”

Harper’s remarks come as the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs committee is set to hold its annual hearing on oversight of Wall Street banksWednesday morning. Scheduled witnesses include the CEOs of Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, BNY Mellon, State Street, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

The hearing follows President Joe Biden’s call last week to “stop the price gouging.” Biden said large corporations have failed to reduce prices even though inflation has fallen and supply chain disruptions that helped drive up prices have been resolved.

Banks are among the corporations raking in the most from consumers and small businesses. The average interest rate for credit cards carrying finance charges stood at 22.77% as of August, the highest level in at least 30 years, according to WalletHub. That was up from 18.43% a year earlier and 14.89% five years ago.

In October, top U.S. credit card issuer JPMorgan Chase reported third-quarter net profits of 32% while No. 2 card issuer Citi was at 17% and Wells Fargo, also a large issuer, saw 28%. Interest income was a huge windfall for all three, up 30% year over year at JPMorgan, 17% at Citi and 8% at Wells Fargo.

Just days later, Visa said it had fourth-quarter profits of 55% while Mastercard reported 49% for its third quarter. Credit and debit card swipe fees, which are shared between the two big card networks and card-issuing banks, have risen 50% since the pandemic, reaching a record $160.7 billion last year.

Several initiatives are pending to stop banks from price gouging. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed regulations that would cap credit card late fees – which currently range as high as $41 and cost consumers $14 billion a year – at $8. And there have been multiple legislative proposals to limit credit card interest rates.