With senators pushing for a hearing as soon as next month on ICBA-opposed legislation to impose credit card routing restrictions, ICBA is calling on community bankers to urge their members of Congress to oppose the measure.
Pending Hearing: As reported by Politico, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said the Senate Judiciary Committee will "most likely" hold a February hearing on the Credit Card Competition Act (S. 1838/H.R. 3881), which would allow merchants to process credit card transactions based solely on which network offers them the lowest cost. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), who is co-sponsoring the bill with Marshall, chairs the committee.
Grassroots Alert: Community bankers can use ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots action center to urge their senators to oppose the legislation and any attempt to tie it to unrelated, must-pass government funding bills.
New Ad Campaign: The Electronic Payments Coalition—of which ICBA is a member—this week launched an ad campaign opposing the legislation, citing community bank opposition. In a news release on the campaign, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said the legislation would reduce access to credit card services, weaken cybersecurity protections, and end credit card rewards programs solely to benefit large retailers.
