Corporate Mega-Stores Again Push Costly Credit Card Mandate Legislation

Government takeover of credit card system would harm small businesses, families. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Electronic Payments Coalition Executive Chairman Richard Hunt issued the following statement on the reintroduction of the untested, flawed Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates by Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.): 

“When corporate mega-stores and their lobbyists pushed through mandates on your debit card, they pocketed the money and ignored repeated promises to lower costs. Now they are at it again, pushing for more mandates just to pad their profits.

“Study after study from respected economists, academics, independent think tanks, and even nonpartisan government agencies show these untested mandates will not lead to lower prices. They will, however, line the pockets of corporate mega-stores while hurting Main Street small businesses, eliminating the credit card rewards Americans rely on to make everyday purchases more affordable, weakening the security and data protections consumers expect, and harming local economies by reducing tourism and limiting access to credit.

“Americans trust our credit card system to process transactions smoothly and securely. They do not want this big government takeover of the credit card system.”

NOTE: The flawed Durbin-Marshall mandates have never been through a Congressional committee for open debate or amendments. The mandates are being pushed by the largest corporate mega-stores, who Sens. Durbin and Marshall count among their largest campaign contributors, and would allow them to process Americans’ credit cards on alternative, untested networks that have never processed credit cards safely.

Independent government agencies say these mandates are bad for local communities, small businesses, and American cardholders. A report from the Congressional Research Service found it unlikely small businesses would benefit while card security would be harmed. The Federal Reserve of Richmond found when similar mandates were imposed on debit cards, merchants either kept prices the same or raised them while debit card fraud increased, and community banks lost revenue used to offer consumer benefits like free checking. And, the Government Accountability Office reported the federal government receives cost savings and efficiency benefits from the current credit and debit card payments systems.

This bad idea is not a new idea. Over the last several years, opposition to the Durbin-Marshall mandates has continued to grow. Community banks and credit unions in all 50 states have come out against these harmful mandates and Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, RTX Corporation, and General Electric Aerospace joined leading airlines and labor unions and groups in opposition, including the Allied Pilots Association, Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, Association of Professional Flight Attendants, Communications Workers of America, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Regional Airline Association, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, and Transportation Workers Union of America.

Additional research on the harm the Durbin-Marshall mandates would cause is available here.