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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,
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Electronic Payments Coalition |

Letter from EPC and Its Members on H.R. 2205

In October 2015, Electronic Payments Coalition and some of its members sent a letter to the Hill in support of H.R. 2205, the Data Security Act. Members who signed include Credit Union National Association (CUNA), Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), Financial Services Roundtable (FSR), Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA), National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) and American Bankers Association (ABA).
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Electronic Payments Coalition |

EPC Applauds Zywicki Testimony Assessing Negative Impact of the Durbin Amendment on Consumers

  A statement from Molly Wilkinson, executive director of the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) praising testimony from Professor Todd Zywicki at the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, & Urban Affairs hearing today: Price controls on debit card transactions, which were enacted through the Durbin Amendment, have created a hand out for retailers that so far has reached $36 billion and continues to rise each year. Professor Zywicki’s testimony made this padding by large retailers evident by noting, “While the Durbin Amendment has saved big box retailers billions of dollars per year in interchange fees, there is no evidence to date that those cost savings have been passed on to retail consumers. In short, consumers are paying higher fees for bank accounts and receiving no rebates from retailers. Indeed, unlike big box retailers that have received multi-billion dollar windfalls, many small retailers are actually paying higher merchant discount rates than before the Durbin Amendment’s enactment.” Retailers promised to pass this sum along to their customers in the form of lower prices but customers are still waiting to see a difference. Zywicki’s insightful testimony supports EPC’s mission of promoting consumer convenience, innovation, and competition. As he states, “the presence of the
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