
Grassroots Alerts
ABA Action Alerts
What happens in Washington impacts every consumer and business throughout the nation. Make your voice heard and tell your federal lawmakers how their decisions will affect you and your community by taking action. click on the links below to contact your senators.
Action needed: NH Bankers: Oppose Credit Card Routing Mandates
Senators Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) have recently introduced S. 4674, legislation expanding government routing mandates to the credit card market. Reps. Lance Gooden (R-TX) and Peter Welch (D-VT) have introduced a companion bill in the House, H.R. 8874.
Over 10 years ago, the Durbin amendment imposed a price cap on interchange revenue financial institutions can receive on debit cards and mandated financial institutions offer at least two networks for routing of debit card transactions. Rather than save consumers money as promised, merchants pocketed the savings they reaped from the government price cap, while community banks lost a revenue source to support important consumer benefits like free checking and debit rewards.
Now, this new legislation would impose even more restrictive government mandates on credit card transactions. Rather than allowing banks to choose networks offering the best customer experience, security, and resiliency, they would be forced to choose among options set by the Federal Reserve. This means banks would be forced to do business with companies that may be less safe and reliable.
This bill would also require banks accept all types of transactions a merchant requests, which would force banks to frequently reissue cards to meet new retailer demands. Community banks, which tend to have a lower volume of credit card transactions, may be forced to no longer offer credit cards, as their options and negotiating power would be altered by this government intervention into private business decisions.
Write your lawmakers today and urge them to fight against these government mandates. Ask them to oppose S. 4674/H.R. 8874, the Credit Card Competition Act.
To learn more about ABA's issues they are monitoring, visit their
Secure American Opportunity site.
ICBA Alerts
Grassroots lobbying is a powerful tool capable of producing tangible results for the community banking industry.
ICBA is calling on community bankers to advocate top policy priorities for the new 118th Congress in direct messages to lawmakers.
Custom Message: Community bankers can use ICBA’s Be Heard grassroots action center to directly contact their members of Congress with policies that will support economic growth in local communities.
Key Policies: ICBA’s customizable message to lawmakers covers regulatory oversight, climate risk rules, credit card routing mandates, the Small Business Administration’s 7(a) program, crypto oversight, and other key issues.