Essentially, we believe that keeping interchange fees high in a way impoverishes consumers and our economy. We want to make sure that these fees are as low as possible, particularly when prices are rising, as we have all observed, as consumers. One way to make sure that prices are acceptable is to make sure that interchange fees are as low as possible.
I would point out again that the agreement with Visa and Mastercard has been in effect for barely a few days. However, I think the rate reduction to 0.5% would benefit everyone, particularly our members and small retailers.