Resources

Debit and credit cards make it far more convenient to buy the things you need or love. Debit interchange convenience fees – the small charges retailers pay for the flexibility of accepting cards – make these transactions possible, secure, and reliable. The Durbin amendment changed the way this once reasonable cost of business is calculated. Prices at big-box retailers should have been lowered for customers thanks to this change, it’s what retailers promised after all, but that hasn’t happened. Big-box retailers have now pocketed $42 billion that was meant to go to you. This is what we call the Merchant Markup. Meanwhile, community banks, credit unions, and consumers are carrying the burden and being forced to eliminate debit card rewards and free checking accounts. The Durbin amendment puts red tape and price controls on these purchases and must be immediately and completely repealed to restore the free market.

SCREWED—“Consumers are on the verge of getting a great windfall…” Using retailers’ own words, a pro-Durbin Amendment repeal group, the Electronic Payments Coalition, launched a compelling video and website focusing on the “broken promises” that retail industry lobbyists made when they pushed for the Durbin Amendment. Now, six years later, “Is the consumer the one that just got screwed?” Watch the video to find out.