Interchange rates have remained steady for nearly a decade. In fact, the only time a business would see a rise in its credit card costs is when its own sales have grown proportionally. The system adjusts based on volume, not rate increases.
Interchange fees aren't some hidden tax; they are a cost of doing business in a system that delivers speed, security, and scale.
The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates are unlikely to result in lower prices for consumers or benefits for small businesses, according to the Congressional Research Service.
When debit card price caps were imposed in 2010:
A separate Congressional Research Service report confirmed that corporate megastores have pocketed over $140 billion since the original Durbin amendment took effect without passing savings to consumers.
Community banks and credit unions still lost up to 30% of their interchange revenue after the 2010 Durbin Amendment, despite claims that small institutions would be exempt from the debit card mandates.
A study from the University of Miami’s School of Finance found:
The so-called exemption failed last time and harmed local financial institutions and the communities they serve. These mandates look to double down on the same failed logic.
Local tourism economies would be devastated by the unintended consequences of credit card mandates. Annually, 15.1M domestic passengers use rewards miles and $12.2B in visitor spending tied to rewards. An Oxford Economics report revealed the economic impact of credit card mandates:
Interchange funds $60 billion in rewards. Without it, those rewards would vanish. Rewards programs are funded by interchange revenue, dismantling this program in favor of corporate megastores' profits would shift essential consumer rewards to corporate megastores bottom lines.
Mandates would expose Americans’ private financial data to cheaper and less secure foreign networks. Interchange helps fund critical protections against fraud, cyber attacks, and identity theft. A look at what has occurred since Durbin 1.0 reveals some of the real risks of a vulnerable system:
When the European Central Bank imposed interchange caps, consumers were hit with higher fees, fewer choices, and limited access to credit.
Higher Fees: European cardholders now pay significantly more in fees than U.S. consumers.
On average, annual credit card fees in Europe increased by 13% after government-imposed caps. Meanwhile, in the U.S., credit card fees make up just 5% of issuer revenue, compared to 15–30% in Europe.
Fewer Rewards: To offset lost interchange revenue, European banks reduced or eliminated rewards programs entirely.
Less Access to Credit: While over 80% of U.S. adults have and use a credit card, credit card access in Europe ranges from 39–57%, and dips as low as 18% in parts of Eastern Europe.
Fewer Choices: Following new mandates in Europe, the number of available credit card products dropped by 14% between 2014 and 2018. Less innovation, fewer perks, and reduced competition are hurting consumers, instead of helping.
There is intense competition in payments. The rapid rise of e-commerce and digital platforms during the pandemic accelerated the entry of new players, giving consumers more ways to pay than ever before. The claim that credit card payments lack competition doesn’t hold up in today’s landscape.
Consumers now choose daily between credit, debit, prepaid, mobile wallets, and alternative payment solutions. Alongside global card brands like Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and JCB, companies like PayPal, Klarna, Afterpay, and Block (Square) have reshaped the marketplace.
These dynamics show the payments ecosystem is not lacking in competition—it’s evolving in real time to meet consumer demand and preferences.
