The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and Washington Retail Association (WRA) are urging retailers to e-mail their U.S. Senators to protect them from further increases in so-called interchange fees.

These fees imposed by credit card companies and issuing banks for processing credit and debit transactions have been skyrocketing. For example, they tripled in the United States between 2001 and 2008, to $48 billion.

With more effective financial regulatory reform in Congress, retailers unable to absorb such fee increases will be forced to lay off employees. WRA and RILA believe such a situation will only lengthen the economic recovery from recession.