Interchange
Interchange is the cost of doing business. It supports an electronic payments system that provides reliable access to funds, fast payment processing, and strong data security protections that benefit consumers, retailers, and card issuers.
Learn more about how interchange works.
America’s Credit Unions opposes legislation aimed at changing the credit interchange system and is fighting back against the Federal Reserve’s proposal to lower the debit interchange cap.
America's Credit Unions opposes the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates:
The Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) (S. 3623 / H.R. 7035) represents an unwarranted and heavy-handed government intrusion into the credit card payment market that would hurt credit unions and consumers alike, while allowing the largest retailers to pocket significant cost savings. The bill disrupts how electronic payments are processed by imposing credit card routing mandates. This would shift the choice of card network from consumers to retailers and allow them to use the cheapest option to cut back on their interchange costs, without any legal requirements to protect consumers’ data.
This shift would threaten the system’s security and increase fraud risk for consumers. As issuers face higher fraud costs and reduced interchange to help defray its impact, fewer issuers would be able to offer credit card programs, leaving consumers in the lurch with less access to credit.
Initially introduced by Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., in the Senate, this legislation uses the same flawed logic as the 2010 Durbin Amendment that mandates debit card processing. Consumers did not receive promised price reductions at the checkout line while debit card fraud increased by 60%, affecting consumers, small businesses, and financial institutions.
Access handouts with key data to support advocacy efforts: