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Electronic Payments Coalition |

The Biggest Whoppers that the Merchant Payments Coalition Has Told Congress

The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) has routinely contacted Congress and the media over the last two years. MPC’s messaging to lawmakers, unfortunately, has gone from half-truths to outright fabrications. It takes only a few minutes of research to discover the reality behind the mistruths that MPC routinely spreads to mislead members of Congress. Here are just a few of their biggest whoppers.
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EPC Study Reveals How the Durbin Amendment Tipped the Scales at the Expense of Consumers

A new report from the Electronic Payments Coalition gathers the findings of over a dozen studies into one place, showing the Durbin amendment’s interference in a traditional two-sided market. While proponents of the Durbin Amendment claimed it would help consumers by allowing merchants to offer lower prices, consumers have yet to see any real benefit seven years since it took effect. That’s not the only way consumers have been left footing the bill for the Durbin amendment, however. In the years since, they’ve also had restricted access to free checking and scaled back rewards programs. Click here to download the report and take a closer look at how the Durbin amendment has failed to live up to its promises.
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Electronic Payments Coalition |

The Value of Electronic Payments: Merchants in Their Own Words

Big-box retailers and merchant coalitions are once again asking Congress to gift them ANOTHER government handout by enacting harmful credit card routing mandates that will undermine fraud security and hurt consumers. But if you listen to what merchants are saying about the value of electronic payments in their own words, you’ll see that retailers are actually making record profits with the help of digital payments.
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Electronic Payments Coalition |

Myth vs. Fact: Setting the Record Straight on Interchange Price Controls

On January 19, 2022, the Merchant Payments Coalition (MPC) sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, highlighting Amazon’s decision to accept Visa credit cards in the U.K. The MPC argued that the U.S. should impose price controls on credit card interchange. In doing so, the letter makes numerous inaccurate claims about interchange. These claims have been debunked below.
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ICLE |

The Effects of Price Controls on Payment-Card Interchange Fees: A Review and Update

In March 2022, the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE) published a study analyzing the effects of price controls on payment-card interchange fees. Examining 20 years of previous literature and data, the ICLE concludes that these regulations slowed innovation, decreased the efficacy of payment systems, and reduced benefits, particularly for lower-income consumers. The full study can be found below.
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Electronic Payments Coalition |

New Spelman College Study: Interchange Regulations Disproportionately Hurt Low-Income Families

Angelino Viceisza, Ph.D., recently released a study addressing the potential impacts of interchange regulation on the U.S. card industry, particularly payment and routing mandates. The stated purpose of the study is to “present potential implications of interchange regulations on lower interest cardholders, smaller merchants, and smaller banks.” Dr. Viceisza concludes that policymakers should refrain from extending interchange regulation to the U.S. credit card industry. Read the main takeaways from the study below.
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