EPC Campaign Exposes Harm of Durbin Amendment, Builds Case for Repeal and Rejection of Similar Card Mandates
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) today launched a national advertising campaign exposing corporate megastores’ failure to lower consumer prices after they pushed government mandates on debit cards and pocketed the estimated $235B in savings they promised Congress would be shared with American families.
The campaign comes as corporate retail interests continue to push credit card mandates in Congress and similar credit and debit card regulations in state legislatures. EPC argues the Durbin Amendment’s record undermines retailers’ claims that new mandates would deliver meaningful consumer savings — or spare community banks and credit unions.
“Corporate megastores pulled off one of the biggest bait-and-switch schemes in Washington. They promised American families lower prices and instead pocketed $235 billion,” said EPC Executive Chairman Richard Hunt. “Fifteen years later, hardworking Americans are still waiting for their money, while these same megastores are back in Washington asking Congress to do it all over again with credit cards.”
The harm extended beyond the checkout counter. Consumers lost valuable debit card rewards, community financial institutions reduced free-checking offerings, and small businesses faced unintended consequences, including transaction costs that doubled on certain smaller-dollar debit purchases.
The Broken Promise
When Congress considered the Durbin Amendment, major retailers promised lawmakers that government-mandated caps on debit card interchange fees would lower prices for consumers and relieve pressure on small businesses. But some said the quiet part out loud, telling investors a different story: the savings would improve their bottom lines.
Fifteen years later, the evidence is clear: retailers pocketed an estimated $235 billion — the equivalent of roughly $1,800 per American family. Meanwhile, 98% of merchants either raised prices or kept them unchanged after the mandates took effect, according to research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.
“The corporate megastores have a credibility problem,” Hunt said. “They didn’t lower prices, small businesses got squeezed, and consumers lost benefits. Now they’re using the same playbook to push new mandates on credit cards. Congress and state lawmakers should ask why anyone would trust them to keep the same broken promise twice.”
Featuring a character dubbed “Mr. Megastore,” the campaign exposes that broken promise: corporate megastores used families and small businesses to win a government handout, then kept the savings for themselves.
Building the Case for Repeal
The national campaign — across television, radio, print and digital platforms — builds support for repealing Regulation II, which implements the Durbin Amendment, and warns against expanding similar mandates at the federal and state levels.
EPC is directing Americans to MegastoreGreed.com, where they can watch the new “Mr. Megastore” commercial, learn how the Durbin Amendment affected consumers, small businesses, and community financial institutions, and contact their members of Congress about repealing debit card mandates and opposing proposals now under consideration.
Watch the new “Mr. Megastore” commercial here.
Visit MegastoreGreed.com to learn more and contact your members of Congress.
