WASHINGTON— “Strong” opposition to an amendment that would attach the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act has been expressed by NAFCU in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
One of the co-sponsors of the legislation, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) has filed the CCCA as an amendment to the appropriations package and indicated he may hold up consideration of the appropriations measure to try to force a vote on the amendment.
In the letter, NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger said the electronic payments system benefits both consumers and merchants, as “many merchants are requesting cashless payments for employee safety and to streamline their operations” while interchange fees are “based on the cost of doing business and the cost of paying for fraudulent transactions.”
All About ‘Big Box Profits’
Additionally, Berger told Congress bill is “about increasing the profits of big box retailers at the expense of consumers and financial institutions by creating government intervention in a free market and establishing a backdoor price control on the credit card system.”
He further suggested “it is the height of hypocrisy” for retailers to want the benefits of card payments while preventing consumers from having their own benefit – such as rewards and fraud protections.
“If they do not like the rules of the payment card system, they can always accept cash,” wrote Berger.
GAO Study Cited
Berger pointed to the findings from a 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO)that called the original Durbin Amendment, which imposed a cap on debit interchange fees for covered banks and credit unions, one of the top five laws to have the greatest negative impact on the cost of banking.
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