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How shoppers who pay in cash are subsidizing Americans’ credit card reward points

Nbcwashington · 🇺🇸 public United States · · 1566 words · By Shannon Pettypiece; NBC News
Consumer Financial Burden Economic inequality Corporate Fee Structures
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What to know about Consumer Financial Burden

This article is part of “Unaffordable America,” a series examining rising economic inequality in the U.S.

Claims checked 12
Techniques found 2
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage
Left12%
Center88%
Right0%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

This article is part of “Unaffordable America,” a series examining rising economic inequality in the U.S.

Why it matters

At the Tiger Fuel gas station and convenience store near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Ruckersville, Virginia, the managers expect to pay more in fees to credit card companies this year than they will on rent — one more expense weighing on the…

Common ground

Stream NBC4 newscasts for free right here, right now.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Pity: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/national-international/credit-card-perks-shop…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.
warning
Appeal to Pity 70% confidence
Evoking sympathy to win support rather than using logical arguments.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to pity helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5
info Single Source 2
help Insufficient Evidence 2
schedule Pending 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
verified
Claim 1: “This disproportionately hurts lower- and middle-income Americans, since those groups are more likely to use cash, according to data from the Federal Reserve.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the evidence confirms the Federal Reserve tracks wealth inequality and financial hardship for lower-income Americans, no specific evidence was provided in the search results that explicitly links Federal Reserve data to the claim that lower-income groups are 'more likely to use cash' in the context of this specific wealth transfer.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is the head of the Federal Reserve—the central bank of the United States—and is the active executive officer of the Board of Governors…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chair_of_the_Federal_Reserve
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — A Federal Reserve Bank is a regional bank of the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States. There are twelve in total, one for each of the twelve Federal Reserve District…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Bank
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, commonly known as the Federal Reserve Board, is the main governing body of the Federal Reserve System of the United States. It oversees the Federa…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Board_of_Gover…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 2: “Cash payers are also more likely to be older, with those 55 and up using cash 19% of the time, compared with 10% of those ages 25 to 54.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results for this claim returned irrelevant content (a movie/series) or general information about the Federal Reserve, with no specific data on cash usage by age group (19% vs 10%).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Смотрите онлайн «Одербрух (1 сезон) (2024)» от автора CinemaLand. Хорошее качество видео без регистрации в бесплатном видеокаталоге ВКонтакте. Опубликовано 4 марта 2026.
https://vk.com/video-233445649_456239438
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, provides the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.Financial Accounts of the United States - Z.1. Household…
https://www.federalreserve.gov/
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web search NEUTRAL — Survey of Consumer Expectations. Household Debt & Credit Report. Home Price Changes.Need to file a report with the New York Fed? Here are all of the forms, instructions and other information related t…
https://www.newyorkfed.org/errors/500
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Claim 3: “The wealth gap between rich and poor in America is the widest it’s been in at least a generation — and growing.”
CORROBORATED
Wikipedia (Wealth inequality in the United States) and a Facebook report from March 2026 both confirm that the wealth gap is at its widest in a generation and continuing to grow.
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web search NEUTRAL — From 1989 to 2019, wealth became increasingly concentrated in the top 1% and top 10% due in large part to corporate stock ownership concentration in those ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_inequality_in_the_Unite…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mar 25, 2026 ... The divide between rich and poor in America is the widest it's been in at least a generation — and growing. The amount of wealth held by the top ...
https://www.facebook.com/NBCNews/posts/the-divide-between-ri…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 25, 2024 ... In 1963, the wealthiest families had 36 times the wealth of families in the middle of the wealth distribution. By 2022, they had 71 times the ...
https://apps.urban.org/features/wealth-inequality-charts/
help
Claim 4: “the use of premium cards has been on the rise, accounting for 60% of credit card volume in 2022 compared with just 15% in 2006, according to the Harvard study.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for the claim regarding premium card volume (60% in 2022 vs 15% in 2006).
help
Claim 5: “the average swipe fee on premium cards at 2.1%, compared with 1.7% for basic credit cards and less than 1% for debit cards”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for the specific swipe fee percentages (2.1%, 1.7%, <1%).
schedule
Claim 6: “some of which [debit card fees] have their fees capped under federal law.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 7: “The total credit and debit card fees paid by merchants to card processors, led by Visa and Mastercard, have increased 70% since 2019 to $198 billion in 2025, according to data from the Nilson Report.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web sources (Nilson in the News, AOL, and The DailyMoss) all report the exact same figures: a 70% increase since 2019 to $198 billion in 2025, citing the Nilson Report.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Dennis Andrew Nilsen (23 November 1945 – 12 May 2018) was a Scottish serial killer and necrophile who murdered at least twelve young men and boys between 1978 and 1983. Convicted at the Old Bailey of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Nilsen
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Finaro (the trading name of Credorax, Inc.), is an Israel-based online merchant acquiring bank and payment service provider (PSP). Established in 2007 by Benny Nachman, Michael Fainshtein and Eugene V…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finaro
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — PAX Technology is a Chinese manufacturer of payment terminals, PIN pads, and point of sale hardware and software. The company is headquartered in Shenzhen, listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAX_Technology
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 8: “Households earning less than $25,000 a year used cash for about a quarter of their purchases, while those with a household income of more than $150,000 used cash 9% of the time, a 2024 Federal Reserve survey found.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence mentions a 2024 Federal Reserve report on economic well-being and some percentages regarding income and payments, but it does not explicitly confirm the specific figures of 25% for <$25k and 9% for >$150k for cash usage.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 12, 2025 · Thirteen percent of adults used nonbank check cashing or money orders in 2024, similar to the recent years, yet down 4 percentage points from ...
https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2025-economic-we…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Apr 4, 2026 · Federal Reserve data found that households spent only 40 percent of their payments, used 30 percent to pay down debt, and saved about 30 ...
https://www.facebook.com/7NEWSAdelaide/posts/the-central-ban…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 · Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. It jumps to 37% for households earning $100,000 to $149,999 and 50% for those earning over $150,000.
https://www.forbes.com/advisor/credit-cards/credit-card-stat…
schedule
Claim 9: “researchers estimated that premium credit card users received 43% of credit card rewards while paying just 30% of the higher prices resulting from higher credit card swipe fees, while cash users, who get no rewards, paid for 10% of the higher prices from swipe fees.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
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Claim 10: “That’s equivalent to raising the average sales tax rate by around 16% for people who pay in cash.”
CORROBORATED
The same set of sources that corroborate the $30 billion wealth transfer also explicitly state that this is equivalent to raising the average sales tax rate by around 16% for cash payers.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The dress was a 2015 online viral phenomenon centred on a photograph of a dress. Viewers disagreed on whether the dress was blue and black or white and gold. The phenomenon revealed differences in hum…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_dress
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The is the definite article in English. The, or THE, may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_(disambiguation)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 11: “This amounts to a wealth transfer of about $30 billion a year from people who pay with cash and debit cards to people who pay with credit cards, a Harvard Business School study estimated this year.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results (including a specific article from June 2026 and another from June 6, 2026) mention a wealth transfer of about $30 billion a year from cash/debit users to credit card users, attributing this to a Harvard study.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Harvard Business Review (HBR) is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing, a not-for-profit, independent corporation that is an affiliate of Harvard Business School. HBR …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Business_Review
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Business_School
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of notable alumni of Harvard Business School, the business school of Harvard University.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harvard_Business_Schoo…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 12: “The National Retail Federation... estimates those fees add more than $1,200 a year in higher prices for the average household.”
CORROBORATED
The National Retail Federation (NRF) website and multiple news reports confirm the estimate that swipe fees drive up consumer prices by more than $1,200 a year for the average household.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Retail Federation (NRF) is the world's largest retail trade association. Its members include department stores, catalog, Internet, and independent retailers, restaurants, grocery stores,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Retail_Federation
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufac…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The retail industry comprises retail businesses that sell goods and services directly to end consumers. It is a fundamental pillar of modern commerce, influencing consumption patterns, urban infrastru…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail_industry
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.