WASHINGTON– The overwhelming majority of small businesses oppose new government mandates on payment networks and instead are more concerned with inflationary pressures than the cost of processing credit cards, as they rely on the security offered by leading credit card networks to operate their businesses and serve their customers, according to a new report.
But the report should be taken with a grain of salt, as it was released by the Small Business Payments Alliance, a project of the Electronic Payments Coalition, which is backed by financial institutions, including big banks, credit unions and payment card networks, according to Bloomberg.
‘Circumvents the Market’
In releasing its findings, the organization criticized the “Credit Card Competition Act” (CCCA), which it said would “circumvent the competitive market” with a new government “routing mandate” that would dictate processing networks, without regard to security or quality.
“The message from small business owners is loud and clear: no new government mandates that would weaken the modern and secure electronic payments system,” said SBPA Spokesperson Peter Kauffmann. “The survey shows that small business owners see the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill for what it is – needless government regulation that would benefit corporate mega stores at the expense of small business.”
The Findings
The organization said the survey, conducted by Morning Consult, found:
- When asked how much government regulation there should be on payment processing fees, most (83%) small business decision makers say government regulation should stay the same (48%) or decrease (35%).
- (64%) believe that the Credit Card Competition Act would benefit large retailers more than small businesses, with 60% of small business decision makers saying that Congress is pushing through changes to digital transactions without considering the impact on their businesses.
- 64% say that forced adoption of new/updated processing networks will place an unfair cost burden on business owners, with more than half (57%) expecting to see lower profits if new network processing changes are required.
Additional information is available here.
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