Interchange bill should be rejected in any form
Misguided credit card interchange mandates would harm consumers, small businesses, and community financial institutions while delivering a windfall to corporate megastores. America’s Credit Unions, Defense Credit Union Council, and Independent Community Bankers of America joined together in writing Congress Thursday, urging lawmakers to reject the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA).
Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Reps. Lance Gooden, R-Tex., and Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., reintroduced the CCCA this week.
“Despite claims of increased competition, the Credit Card Competition Act would do the opposite—reducing consumer choice, weakening fraud protections, and consolidating advantages for the largest retailers,” the letter reads. “Research from the University of Miami finds small businesses would be placed at a further competitive disadvantage, with nearly all savings flowing to retailers with more than $500 million in annual sales.”
The Durbin Amendment’s debit card cap has cost consumers access to free checking, and the CCCA could cost the economy $228 billion and 156,000 jobs by undermining rewards programs, according to Oxford Economics. The Durbin Amendment’s debit card cap has cost consumers access to free checking, and the CCCA could cost the economy $228 billion and 156,000 jobs , according to Oxford Economics.
The bill would also significantly increase fraud. A Texas A&M study found it could double card fraud to $20 billion over the next decade, while at the same time reducing financial institutions’ ability to invest in fraud protection and data security.