“The agreement helps small businesses more than a haphazard, experimental piece of legislation that only benefits the largest corporate mega-stores ever would. Congress should put an end to the ill-advised Durbin-Marshall mandates and let the agreement merchants reached stand on its own.”
Date: March 26, 2024
Media Contact:
Nick Simpson
Nick@electronicpaymentscoalition.org
WASHINGTON – Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) Executive Chairman Richard Hunt issued the following statement regarding the impact the interchange lawsuit agreement between U.S. merchants, Visa, Mastercard and other financial institutions has on the Durbin-Marshall credit card legislation:
“The agreement between merchants, Visa, Mastercard and financial institutions has been decades in the making and treats businesses of all sizes equally without government mandates or jeopardizing consumers’ data security and rewards programs.
“Merchants will also receive a host of other technical benefits that could have never been reached with legislation drafted by individuals who simply do not understand the intricacies of our global payment networks.
“The Durbin-Marshall bill has had no debate, no legitimate hearing and continues to be unnecessary.
“Ultimately, the agreement helps small businesses more than a haphazard, experimental piece of legislation that only benefits the largest corporate mega-stores ever would. Congress should put an end to the ill-advised Durbin-Marshall mandates and let the agreement merchants reached stand on its own.”
NOTE: The merchants agreed to settle the lawsuit re: Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation. The settlement was in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and will move to the Eastern District Court of New York for final approval. Below is a comparison of the benefits offered through this merchant-agreed settlement versus the flawed, unworkable mandates in the Durbin-Marshall legislation.