House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) is expected to introduce legislation before the end of this month that would repeal debit card swipe fee reform, commonly known as the Durbin Amendment.
NATSO has been actively opposing this effort and had hoped that Rep. Hensarling would not include repeal of the Durbin Amendment in his legislation, known as the Financial Choice Act. His decision to do so means that the retailing community will have a significant fight on its hands in coming months.
Rep. Hensarling’s introduction of the Financial Choice Act will coincide closely with NATSO’s annual Day on the Hill, scheduled to be held May 15-17. NATSO members are urged to register to attend this important event so that the industry can collectively voice its strong opposition to the Financial Choice Act.
The Durbin Amendment imposed much-needed reforms on the debit interchange market and brought certainty for retailers and a level of transparency and competition into a market that was historically void of it.
Debit card reforms have been a major step in the right direction and any removal of those reforms would be a monumental step in the wrong direction for U.S. businesses and consumers.
Repeal of the Durbin Amendment would allow the big banks to impose outrageous fees on merchants and increase prices for consumers. Companies like Visa and MasterCard will dominate the market to the extent that they can fix fees, squeezing retailers and raising costs for consumers. It is currently estimated that swipe fees cost merchants and consumers $40 billion every year.
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