Skip to content

Resources

Filter
Electronic Payments Coalition |

EPC Members’ Joint Letter to Chairmen Hensarling and Neugebauer

On June 14, 2016, EPC’s members American Bankers Association (ABA), Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), Credit Union National Association (CUNA), Financial Services Roundtable (FSR), Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), and National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) sent a letter to Chairmen Hensarling and Neugebauer in support of their efforts to repeal the Durbin Amendment.
More

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: New Analysis Demonstrates the Durbin Amendment Has Not Led to Consumer Savings or Employment Gains, Contrary to Retailer Claims

The Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) released a new analysis today that directly dispels inaccurate claims in a report frequently cited by merchant and retailer groups on the effects of the Durbin Amendment. Retailer claims that the Durbin Amendment has benefited consumers and supported employment gains are based on a flawed study that relies on faulty assumptions. Independent data from the Federal Reserve verifies that merchants are the sole beneficiaries of interchange price caps, at the expense of both consumers and the financial industry. “Merchant groups have been touting a study they funded in 2013 by economist Robert J. Shapiro to back up their positions on interchange regulation,” said Molly Wilkinson, executive director of EPC. “The study is fundamentally flawed and presents an inaccurate picture of the true impact of the Durbin Amendment. This is a failed policy that only benefits the special interests that pushed for it—big box retailers.” The cornerstone of pro-Durbin arguments was that large merchant groups (the Amendment’s most vocal supporters) would pass along the roughly $8 billion in annual interchange fee savings to consumers in the form of lower prices and added payrolls. Despite strong evidence to the contrary, retailers continue to argue that consumers are
More

Infographic: Consumers Aren’t Benefiting from Merchant Markup

The Durbin Amendment, a.k.a. “merchant markup,” allows big box retailers to pocket $8 billion dollars a year from customers’ purchases. That’s $32 billion since Congress passed this law and retail groups are looking to increase their merchant markup even more. Additionally, big box retailers are not held to any federal standards to protect their customers, yet 90% of consumers agree they should be held to similar standards as banks and financial institutions when it comes to keeping customer data secure and private. The Data Security Act of 2015 would help protect consumers but retailers are fighting the bill to increase their bottom line. It’s time to put consumers first.
More
Electronic Payments Coalition |

EPC Supports Commonsense Measures to Protect Consumer Data

A statement from Molly Wilkinson, executive director of the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) in support of the Data Security Act of 2015, H.R. 2205: Despite recent claims from representatives of the retail industry, security measures to protect sensitive customer information are needed across industries that handle consumers’ personal and financial information. Retailers are not currently held to any Federal security standards, yet a recent Morning Consult poll found 90 percent of consumers agree stores and retailers should be held to similar standards as banks and financial institutions to keep data secure and private. Banks and financial institutions go above and beyond the requirements of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) to safeguard their customers’ information and the same effort should be required of others that handle sensitive customer data, such as credit and debit cards. There are numerous safeguards implemented by financial institutions that retailers currently do not abide by, such as: sensitive information protections, privacy protection and notification, security plans and safeguard measures, and pretexting protections. Given the numerous recent big-box retailer data breaches, the Data Security Act of 2015 (H.R. 2205) provides common sense standards that protect consumer information when in the hands of retailers now more than ever. Unfortunately,
More

Latest Updates

See All