Jan
10
2021
In a glowing New York Times magazine profile of Brian Kelly, the founder of The Points Guy website, there are a number of unreasonable and poorly-argued claims. One in particular bothered me enough to address: that people earning credit card rewards do so at the expense of the poor.
Merchants pay fees to swipe credit cards, but the cost to accept credit cards is lower than other forms of payment. In the fight between businesses and credit card companies over fees, poor people are used as a fig leaf for corporate interests. Cutting interchange rates doesn’t lower prices, and doesn’t improve access to credit for the poor.
