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Electronic Payments Coalition |

Credit Cards and the Reverse Robin Hood Fallacy: A Primer

The International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE) recently released a study addressing the “Reverse Robin Hood” fallacy, a belief which holds that credit card rewards function as a transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich. The study highlights the faulty logic present in this line of reasoning, arguing the evidence suggests that the Reverse Robin Hood hypothesis, “should be rejected and that action to address it could be counterproductive.” Read the key takeaways from the study below.
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Electronic Payments Coalition |

The Value of Rewards: October 2021

Today, the EPC released its report on the value of electronic payments rewards programs. The report illustrates the numerous benefits that credit and debit card rewards offer retailers and consumers of all income levels while rebutting the most common criticisms of rewards cards. It concludes: “the data clearly demonstrate that interchange fees that merchants pay are easily outweighed by the value they receive in return.” The full report is included below.
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ICLE |

Credit Cards and the Reverse Robin Hood Fallacy: Do Credit Card Rewards Really Steal from the Poor and Give to the Rich?

Recently, the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE) published a study analyzing the credit card market and the “Reverse Robin Hood” fallacy—the erroneous belief that credit card rewards programs steal from the poor to benefit the rich. The study authors debunk this idea, concluding that addressing the concern by capping credit card interchange would “create far more risk of harm than good.” The full study can be found below.
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Electronic Payments Coalition |

Myth vs. Fact: Setting the Record Straight on Credit and Debit Routing

On October 19, 2021, Payments Dive published an op-ed by Doug Kantor advocating increased government regulation in the electronic payments industry, entitled, “Retailer groups urge credit swipe routing changes.” The piece makes several faulty claims about interchange as well as credit and debit routing, which are consistently repeated across a multitude of media outlets and groups in opposition to the EPC. These claims have been addressed below.
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Electronic Payments Coalition |

Routing Explained: Credit vs. Debit Networks

Electronic payment routing—whether through debit or credit networks—is a complex process. The merchant, merchant processor, network, and issue processor all play integral roles in authorizing and approving electronic payment transactions. The below explainer on routing provides an in-depth look behind-the-scenes of what occurs when a consumer uses their credit or debit card to make a purchase.
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Joint Letter Responding to State Legislation that would Prohibit Interchange on the Sale Tax Portion of Electronic Transactions

On October 20, 2021, the Electronic Payments Coalition, alongside eight other undersigned organizations, penned a joint letter to members of the Wisconsin Assembly Committee on Financial Institutions, including Chairwoman Cindi Duchow and Vice-chair Terry Katsma. In the letter, the coalition urged the committee to reject legislation designed to prohibit interchange on the sales tax portion of electronic payments transactions, contending that such legislative proposals are unworkable and would exacerbate current COVID-19 challenges.
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