ICBA, other groups reiterate opposition to Durbin-Marshall in letter to Congress

ICBA and other groups sent a letter to Congress reiterating strong opposition to the Credit Card Competition Act (Durbin-Marshall bill) or any other expansion of the Durbin amendment.

Details: ICBA and the other groups said that any legislative initiatives to expand the power of the federal government to intervene in the credit card market would harm consumers, small businesses, and financial institutions by reducing choice, increasing costs and fraud risks, and creating economic challenges for smaller financial institutions.

Background: Reintroduced by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), the ICBA-opposed Credit Card Competition Act (S. 3623; H.R. 7035) would require certain financial institutions to offer merchants at least two networks to process credit cards, at least one of which cannot be owned by Visa or Mastercard—allowing merchants to process credit card transactions based solely on which network offers them the lowest cost.

Recent ICBA Advocacy: In a letter to Congress and joint press release, ICBA and other groups last week urged Congress to reject the CCCA legislation in any form, saying the misguided mandates would harm consumers, small businesses, and community financial institutions while delivering a windfall to corporate megastores.