Congress should oppose legislation to establish new credit card rules that would put more money in the pockets of big-box retailers while leaving consumers and community banks to foot the bill, ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey wrote in a new op-ed.
Consumer Impact: In a joint American Banker op-ed with other industry groups, Romero Rainey said the Credit Card Competition Act (S. 1838/H.R. 3881) would allow large retailers to undermine consumers’ financial security by processing credit card transactions on the least costly networks, regardless of customer preference or security.
Consumer Views: ICBA recently released polling that shows Americans oppose legislation introduced by Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to create credit card routing mandates. According to the polling of U.S. adults conducted by Morning Consult, 69% say merchants would likely keep their cost savings for themselves while 71% say changing the technology that is used to conduct credit transactions at the register is risky.
Grassroots Alert: Community bankers can continue using ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots action center to urge their senators to oppose the legislation.
