Protagonist Books & Coffee Inc.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Chief Counsel’s Office 400 7th Street SW Washington, DC 20219 Re: Interim Final Rule (Docket ID OCC-2026-0430); Interim Final Order (Docket ID OCC-2026-0431) To the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: I am writing to strongly oppose your interim final rule [ID “OCC-2026-0430”] and interim final order [Docket ID “OCC-2026-0431”], which attempt to stop state laws like the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) from protecting small businesses. My name is Amber Gellar-Smith, and I am the owner of Protagonist Books & Coffee, located in Dryden, New York. We are a small, independent business that serves as a safe space for our LGBTQIA+, immigrant, and minority communities, we are a local cultural center and employer. Still in our first year of business, our burgeoning bookstore has become essential to the community we serve, yet we still currently operate at a loss. This means we cannot afford to absorb further unnecessary costs. The core issue is simple: sales taxes do not belong to us. We collect this money for the state government. But under the current system, Visa, Mastercard, and the banks charge us a swipe fee on that sales tax money—money we never keep. This is indefensible. The OCC’s new rule says banks can continue to collect these fees. By doing this, the OCC is stepping in to protect a system where Visa and Mastercard control about 85% of the market and set non-competitive fees for all banks. This is essentially collective price-fixing, and it costs small businesses like mine billions of dollars every year. States have the right to protect their local businesses and consumers from unfair payment practices. I urge the OCC to immediately withdraw its interim final rule and order, and to respect the authority of states to stop financial institutions from monetizing sales tax revenue. Respectfully submitted, Amber Gellar-Smith Owner, Protagonist Books & Coffee New York