In a letter addressed to all members of the U.S. Senate, 134 trade associations endorsed an amendment (S. Amdt. 3932) to the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) that will address excessive debit-card swipe fees and the anti-competitive practices of credit card companies and the big banks that issue their cards.
The amendment would free merchants of anti-competitive restrictions imposed by the credit card companies, allowing merchants to offer discounts when customers use less expensive forms of payment. The amendment would also direct the Federal Reserve to issue regulations to ensure that swipe fees imposed on debit card transactions are “reasonable and proportional” to the cost incurred in processing the transaction.
More than 80 percent of all interchange fees are collected by the 10 largest banks. The amendment offered by Sen. Durbin exempts all banks, credit unions and thrifts with assets less than $1 billion, meaning that 92% of all banks, 98% of all credit unions, and 86% of all thrifts would be exempt, allowing them to continue to receive the same interchange fees they receive today.
The letter was signed by 57 national associations and 77 state trade associations, including the American Nursery & Landscape Association.
To read the letter in its entirety, click here.