CHICAGO—Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker (D) has signed legislation delaying the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) by one year, America’s Credit Unions reported.
The new deadline is July 1, 2026.
A controversial law targeting interchange fees on tax and tip portions of transactions, the IFPA was signed into law on June 7 and would ban banks, payment networks and other entities from charging or receiving interchange fees in Illinois on the portion of a debit or credit card transaction attributable to tax or gratuity.
ACU Chief Advocacy Officer Carrie Hunt said the governor signing the legislation that delays the law now officially buys more time to address the issue.
“America's Credit Unions appreciates that we have some extra time to resolve this for our members,” Hunt said. “We absolutely need to ensure that credit unions are able to transact business in the state of Illinois appropriately and conduct these transactions."
The Defense Credit Union Council, too, stated the delay is a necessary, and is responsible step toward protecting Illinois’ credit unions, community banks, small businesses, and consumers from significant disruption to the unified global payments system.
"We thank Governor Pritzker and his administration for their attention to this critical issue. DCUC strongly urges the Illinois General Assembly to fully repeal this misguided law. Protecting the integrity of the payments system and ensuring fair, consistent treatment for all financial institutions is essential for maintaining consumer trust and economic stability," said Jason Stverak, DCUC chief advocacy officer. "Delaying implementation is a step in the right direction—and we will continue to advocate for policies at the state level that support local financial institutions, military families, and the communities they serve."
The Illinois CU League and America’s Credit Unions had worked jointly on a supplemental brief for the U.S. District Court here intended to lead to credit unions being included in a preliminary injunction that pauses implementation of the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA).
The controversial law has been challenged in a complaint filed in August by America’s Credit Unions. As CUToday.info reported, a federal judge had ordered a preliminary injunction that would pause implementation of the IFPA.
The preliminary injunction had paused enforcement of the Illinois state law restricting interchange fees for national banks and federal savings associations, but left the law in place for Illinois-chartered institutions and credit card networks. The order also left the law in effect for out-of-state banks and federal credit unions until the court can review the legal arguments in more detail.