Legal fight continues against harmful Illinois interchange law

Retailers should not be permitted to participate in oral arguments in the challenge to the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA), America’s Credit Unions, the Illinois Credit Union League, and other organizations wrote in a filing Monday with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The IFPA would prohibit financial institutions from charging or receiving interchange fees in Illinois on the tax or gratuity portion of a card transaction. Credit unions are challenging the law due to its negative impacts on the card payments system and consumers. 

The court previously denied merchants’ attempt to participate in the lawsuit as intervenors, and Monday’s brief notes “their request for oral argument appears to be a procedurally improper effort to relitigate that decision.”

The organizations note that permitting retailers’ participation would undermine the court’s prior decision to deny the motion to intervene and could improperly complicate the litigation with legal arguments already provided in the retailers' amicus brief filing.

The Illinois Credit Union League successfully advocated for a one-year delay in the IFPA’s implementation, which is now set for July 1, 2026.