Coalition Supporting Colorado Economy Calls on Governor to Veto Card Chaos Law

Coalition warns legislation backed by corporate mega-stores would harm small businesses, consumers, and working families

Contact:
Katie Farnan
720-404-2502
katie@thebighorncompany.com 

Denver, CO — May 6, 2026 — The Colorado House of Representatives today passed SB26-134, legislation opposed by a broad coalition of credit unions, small business owners, labor unions, travel industry representatives, and community organizations. The coalition also called on Governor Jared Polis to veto the legislation to avoid chaos and confusion for Colorado consumers, disrupt popular credit card rewards programs millions of Coloradans depend on, and harm the state’s tourism economy all to deliver a financial windfall to out-of-state corporate mega-stores like Walmart, Target, and The Home Depot.

The legislation attempts to carve out the tax portion of a transaction from the overall amount processed on a credit or debit card. A system to do this does not exist and, because of the amendments added to the bill to flip votes, could mean cards issued by a handful of banks might not work in Colorado.

The coalition is calling on Governor Polis to protect consumers, small businesses, and local financial institutions by rejecting this legislation before it can cause lasting harm to Colorado’s economy, and almost certain legal challenges.

“The Colorado General Assembly ignored repeated warnings from tourism groups, community leaders, legal experts, and small businesses about the credit card chaos this bill would unleash,” said Electronic Payments Coalition Executive Chairman Richard Hunt. “The only way to prevent confusion at checkout, years of costly legal battles, and harm to Colorado workers and businesses is for Governor Polis to veto this legislation.”

Chaos for Colorado’s Tourism Economy

According to Airlines for America, airline credit card rewards funded travel for more than 740,000 domestic visitors to Colorado, generating over $1.2 billion in economic activity and supporting nearly 9,800 jobs. Colorado’s tourism sector supports more than 188,000 jobs statewide. If interchange cuts cause rewards programs to shrink or disappear, fewer travelers will use miles and points to visit Colorado, and the small businesses, cultural institutions, and local attractions that depend on those visitors will feel it.

Citing a survey conducted by AlphaROC, Inc, in which 80.8 percent of Coloradans say earning bonus rewards, especially for travel, is an important benefit of using their credit cards, Airlines for America President and CEO Chris Sununu said: “There isn’t much that 80 percent of people can agree on these days, so it’s significant that most Coloradans agree when it comes to their credit card rewards. That’s exactly why Gov. Polis should veto the terrible legislation.” 

Opposition from Community & Labor Leaders

• Denver NAACP President Reverend Tony Henderson and Colorado Black Women for Political Action President Bianka Emerson wrote in a recent op ed: “Cash-back rewards help cover groceries and household bills. Points can help families pay for gas, transportation, or school supplies. Travel miles make it possible to visit loved ones, pursue employment opportunities, or take the kind of family trip that otherwise would not be affordable. For families living paycheck to paycheck, every dollar matters.”

• “While this legislation is purported to help small businesses, we believe it will harm good union jobs in Colorado while delivering millions in additional profits to corporations that systematically fight against workers’ right to organize and collectively bargain,” said Richie Johnsen, General Vice President, IAM Union — Air Transport Territory. “It is unconscionable to reward these companies while they continue to undermine the very foundation of worker power.” 

• “This is your Flight Attendant speaking. Big box stores, tech bros, and other bad actors on labor rights want this legislation so they can pocket the fees themselves,” said Sara Nelson, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, AFL-CIO. “It’s really important for lawmakers to look under the rug on this to see how it undermines workers, hurts small businesses, and upends security for all of us as consumers.”

Opposition from Small Businesses

• “Ultimately, the companies that stand to benefit from this proposal are the large corporate mega retailers, while small businesses would be forced to navigate complicated transactions and new barriers to accepting payments,” wrote Liliana Soto, owner of Las Dos Americas Tortilleria in Commerce City, in a recent op ed. “It’s no surprise similar proposals were rejected in 26 states last year. Colorado’s small businesses deserve policies that help us grow, not rules that complicate everyday transactions.”

• “On a busy Friday night, that would be a disaster,” wrote Daniel Doherty, owner of Jordinelli’s Sports Bar and Grill in Brighton, in a letter to the editor published in the Brighton Blade. “It would slow service, create confusion, and force my staff to explain a legislative mandate to a customer who just wants to pay their tab and watch the game.”

• “My customers aren’t going to start carrying cash for the tax on their pizza. They’re going to be confused, frustrated, and they might just go somewhere else. I can’t afford to lose a single customer right now,” wrote Melinda Carbajal, Managing Member of Simply Pizza. “How can you guarantee that our Point-Of-Sale operators will adjust the platforms for this regulation?”

Opposition from Local Financial Institutions

• “When interchange fees are reduced, the costs of the system don’t disappear; they shift to consumers, community banks, local businesses, and the workers and nonprofits who rely on fast, secure payment processing,” said Shawn Osthoff, President of Bank of Colorado in a recent op ed. “As the president of a Colorado community bank, I see firsthand how much families and local entrepreneurs depend on the protections and services interchange fees help support. Undermining that structure might pad corporate profits, but it won’t help Colorado consumers — and it certainly won’t keep our communities safe.”

• “The Credit Card Chaos bill undermines the affordable banking and fraud prevention services that nearly 3 million credit union members depend on,” said Scott Sager, CFO of Colorado Credit Union. “Credit unions want to be part of the solution in building an innovative payment system. At a moment when the payments system is evolving toward real‑time, tokenized, and open models, Colorado would be imposing a backward‑looking rule that fragments the system, weakens fraud defenses, and concentrates power in the hands of the largest players. Colorado can do better than that.”

• “As the leader of an employee-owned community bank that’s deeply rooted in southern Colorado, I see our role as far more than processing transactions. We finance startups, sponsor local nonprofits, advise families and stand beside customers during both prosperity and hardship,” wrote Brett Wyss, President of Integrity Bank & Trust in a recent op ed. “Our success is tied directly to the success of the communities we serve. Policies that weaken community banking ultimately weaken local economies.”

Immediate Legal Challenges

In addition to broad-based opposition, SB26-134 would face immediate legal challenges if signed into law. The same fight has been playing out in Illinois for the past two years, with no guaranteed outcome. A Seventh Circuit appeal is currently pending. 

Adding to the challenges of the Illinois law upon which SB26-134 is modeled directly, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued an interim final rule on April 24 (OCC Bulletin 2026-18) confirming that federal law preempts state law on credit card fees, exempting all national banks from such laws. 

Ten former comptrollers spanning administrations from Reagan to Biden filed their own amicus brief with the Seventh Circuit making the same preemption argument as the OCC. In its own filing, the OCC warned that the Illinois law “is an unworkable state law that threatens to upend the nation’s intricately-designed payments system — a system in which national banks and Federal savings associations play critical roles.”

With large national banks exempted per the OCC ruling, the Colorado bill would in practice apply to less than 20 banks and a single credit union, Navy Federal Credit Union whose mission is to serve military and veterans. Legislation that was sold as relief for small businesses and consumers would, in practice, amount to a targeted mandate on a handful of financial institutions, while delivering its largest financial benefits to the world’s biggest retailers.

Additionally, the OCC ruling leaves the compliance burden of the legislation almost entirely on the shoulders of Colorado’s locally chartered community banks and credit unions, which are the very institutions that provide affordable banking services to working families across the state.

For additional information, please visit GuardYourCard.com/Colorado.