Chicago, IL – The Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) today released a new statewide advertisement highlighting the impact the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act would have on local banks, credit unions, and their customers, along with a direct appeal from a local credit union leader urging policymakers to repeal the flawed law before its July 1, 2026, implementation date. The ad is the latest phase of an ongoing campaign calling on the legislature to repeal the IFPA, which has been tied up in courts since 2024 and called unworkable by the nation’s leading federal banking regulator.
The law saddles Illinois community banks and credit unions with costly new compliance burdens, legal uncertainty, and competitive disadvantages. It also threatens to create confusion and chaos for small businesses and consumers who rely on local financial institutions, raising questions about whether their cards will work for certain purchases.
“Illinois politicians handed the largest out-of-state corporate mega-stores like Walmart, Home Depot and Amazon a win while sticking hometown banks, credit unions, and their customers with the bill,” said Richard Hunt, Chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition. “Illinois families trust their local financial institutions, but this flawed law punishes the hometown lenders serving their communities. Springfield must immediately repeal IFPA before Illinois becomes the Land of Credit Card Chaos.”
The ad features Frank Padak, President and CEO of Scott Credit Union, who tells lawmakers: “For 80 years, credit unions like ours have served military families, veterans, and local communities. Today, we are still helping our members through affordable loans and access to credit. But lawmakers approved a policy that is bad for consumers and bad for business, leaving local institutions in a lurch.”The ad is available here and below:
With the law set to take effect July 1, EPC is urging lawmakers to repeal the measure before further damage is done to community-based financial institutions across Illinois.
EPC’s members include community banks, credit unions, card networks, and issuing banks. Illinois is home to one of the largest concentrations of hometown banks and credit unions in the country. The new ad highlights the critical role local financial institutions play in serving military families, veterans, teachers, firefighters, small businesses, and communities across Illinois, while warning that the law unfairly penalizes the hometown institutions Illinois families rely on every day.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency recently confirmed that federal law preempts application of the Illinois statute to national banks, consistent with longstanding bipartisan guidance from federal regulators dating back decades. As a result, Illinois-chartered community banks and credit unions remain exposed while large national institutions are shielded from the law’s new requirements.
The law was backed by some of the nation’s largest corporate retailers, including Walmart, Amazon, and Home Depot, which stand to save millions under the policy while Illinois-based banks and credit unions are left to absorb the consequences.
The ad is part of a statewide campaign running across television, digital, out-of-home advertising, and media outlets throughout Illinois.
