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Retailers, Financial Institutions Go Local in Debit Card Fee Fight
On the other side of the issue, the Electronic Payments Coalition is running a digital ad campaign in Washington and other advertising in key congressional districts. Those districts include Budd’s, and the districts represented by House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) and Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee Chairman Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-Mo.). One digital ad argues that the consumer got “screwed” by the Durbin amendment and the second is an animated video on the need to repeal the Durbin Amendment. Continue Reading
POLITICO Morning Money: House Panel Advances Dodd-Frank Alternative
BANKS CLAIM WIN ON DURBIN — From a financial services lobbyist: “The debit-card networks and issuing banks scored an under-the-radar win Tuesday when the House Financial Services Committee passed a Dodd-Frank replacement that included a repeal of Durbin. The anti-Durbin crowd, led by the Electronic Payments Coalition, worked hard for months to make sure Durbin was included in the bill — and stayed there, despite pressure from the retailers to strip it. “That included member meetings, calls in the district, newspaper and online ads, etc. The merchants applied similar (perhaps greater … ) pressure on members to offer an amendment to remove the Durbin repeal.” Continue Reading
Industry Groups Praise Hensarling’s Dodd-Frank Replacement Plan Ahead of Markup
The Electronic Payments Coalition also showered praise on Hensarling’s bill. Both ABA and the Electronic Payments Coalition have advocated for eliminating Dodd-Frank’s limitations on credit card swipe fees, a provision commonly referred to as the “Durbin Amendment” after its lead advocate, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). The Financial CHOICE Act would repeal the Durbin Amendment, which led EPC Executive Director Molly Wilkinson to call the legislation “the right thing to do for consumers and small community banks and credit unions.” She made the remarks Monday in a letter to Hensarling. Continue Reading
Banks Step Up Push to Repeal Durbin Amendment
WASHINGTON — More than 50 state bankers associations have rallied behind legislation from Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, to repeal caps on debit interchange fees. The groups argue in a letter in a letter Friday to Neugebauer and other members of the House Financial Services Committee that an amendment added to the Dodd-Frank Act by Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., failed to help consumers and instead benefited only retailers. Continue Reading
Bill to Repeal Cap on Swipe Fees Introduced
Legislation to repeal the federal cap on debit card fees was introduced Tuesday in the House. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Texas, the author of the legislation, said in introducing his bill that the cap on swipe fees “represents an egregious example of the federal government picking winners and losers. Simply put, it represents crony capitalism at its worst.” Continue Reading
Morning Money: Durbin Amendment Fight Returns
DURBIN AMENDMENT FIGHT RETURNS — Rep. Randy Neugebauer on Tuesday introduced H.R. 5465 to repeal the Durbin Amendment with support from the Electronic Payments Coalition — American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association, Credit Union National Association, Financial Services Roundtable, Independent Community Bankers of America and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions DURBIN NOT PLEASED — Per release from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.): “Repealing the Durbin Amendment would be a windfall for Visa, MasterCard and the nation’s biggest banks, but it would diminish transparency and competition in the debit card system and harm millions of Main Street merchants and their customers. Make no mistake – Main Street will not give up its hard-won gains under the Durbin Amendment without a fight. And repeal of the Durbin Amendment will not happen on my watch.” Continue Reading
Durbin Fights Effort to Repeal Interchange Cap
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) is vowing to fight a renewed effort to repeal the cap on debit card interchange fees – a part of the Dodd-Frank Act that is known as the Durbin Amendment. “Repeal of the Durbin Amendment will not happen on my watch,” Durbin (pictured) said after Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) introduced H.R. 5465, which would repeal the cap. Continue Reading
Neugebauer Bill Aims to Repeal Durbin Amendment
On June 14, Rep. Randy Neugebauer (R-Texas) introduced H.R. 5465, a bill that aims to repeal the Durbin Amendment (Section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank Act). The Durbin Amendment required the Federal Reserve to limit the interchange fee that a card issuer could collect from merchants for debit card transactions. Under the rule implemented by the Fed in June 2011, the maximum interchange fee that a card issuer could receive was set at 21 cents per transaction and 5 basis points multiplied by the value of the transaction. Not surprisingly, with the drop of multibillion-dollar annual revenues for card issuers, the Durbin Amendment has been popular with retailers and merchants but not so much so with debit card issuers. Continue Reading
Senators Discuss Effects of Consumer Finance Regulation
While few senators attended the Senate Banking Committee’s hearing on the effects of consumer finance regulations, Senate Democrats blasted Senate Republicans for trying to kneecap the CFPB and questioned one witness’ judgement about the agency at Tuesday’s event. During his opening statement, ranking member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), chided the committee’s Republicans for having forgotten the recent financial crisis and the reasons why the CFPB was developed. He told committee members to resist the collective amnesia in the hearing room and in Congress. Continue Reading