"Mind-Boggling" Card Fees at the Pump: $2 Per Gallon!

Gas station owners in Long Island have decided not to pass on savings from interchange regulation to consumers, according to multiple reports from the area.

Some fill stations are charging $2 to $3 more per gallon, according to a CBS News affiliate in New York. At one station, premium gas paid for with a credit card costs $6.19 a gallon, the report says.

When CBS reached out to Suffolk County Director of Weights and Measures Clifford Coleman for comment, his response was one of powerlessness: “We can't do anything in regards to the extra charging for that $2 per gallon for use of the credit card,” he told the news outlet. “It's not illegal.”

Current prices at the pump don't seem to be delivering the savings regulators hoped would result from interchange caps to end users. Indeed, some reports have argued that certain groups of merchants are enjoying massive "subsidies" from swipe fee regulation, and that none of the value is being passed on to consumers.