Call to Action - Interchange Vote
Urge Senators to Support Interchange Relief Amendments. These Amendments Will Be Voted on in the Coming Days
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) has offered amendments to address interchange fee reform on behalf of merchants and consumers to S. 3217, The Restoring American Financial Stability Act, which is currently being considered by the Senate. These amendments represent the best chance to enact interchange reform this year, therefore its imperative that your Senators are supportive.
What the amendments do:
S. Amendment # 3771: Amendment to limit payment card networks from imposing anti-competitive restrictions on businesses and other entities that accept payment cards. This amendment would prevent card networks like Visa and MasterCard from: prohibiting sellers from offering discounts to use one card network as opposed to another; prohibiting sellers from offering discounts to customers for use of a particular form of payment (cash, check, debit card, stored value card or credit card); and prohibiting sellers from setting maximum or minimum transaction amounts for a form of payment.
S. Amendment # 3769: Amendment to ensure that the fees that businesses and other entities are charged for accepting debit cards are reasonable and proportional to the costs incurred. This amendment would give authority to the Federal Reserve Board to issue regulations to ensure that any interchange fee imposed on a debit card transaction is “reasonable and proportional” to the cost incurred in processing the transaction. The amendment includes a carve-out for debit cards issued by small banks and credit unions with assets of $1 billion or less.
The Senate is expected to vote on the amendments in the coming days, therefore your IMMEDIATE ACTION is requested. If you receive feedback from Senator Byrd or Senator Rockefeller's office, we ask that you please forward that information to OMEGA. PMAA, NACS and N.G.A. are working very hard on this issue and we need to do what we can to support this effort.
Retailers can contact their Senators via the Capitol switchboard toll-free at (877) 224-0041. The message is: “As a small businessman, I am COUNTING on your support of the Durbin/Leahy/Landrieu Amendment #3771 and the Durbin Amendment # 3769.”
