HARRISBURG, Penn.–A proposed law on interchange in this state that credit unions argued would create “chaos” has not been included in the state budget passed by the state legislature.
The CrossState Credit Union Association said the interchange bill that passed the House Finance Committee remains stalled in the House Rules Committee, in large part due its efforts as well as efforts by the Pennsylvania Bankers Association, the Pennsylvania Association of Community Bankers, and other members of the Electronic Payment Coalition.
As CUToday.info reported here, HB 2493, would prohibit financial institutions, including credit unions, from collecting interchange on the sales tax portion of credit and debit card transactions.
“Merchants could be forced to collect the sales tax as a separate transaction, essentially requiring two transactions for every taxable sale, forcing consumers to pay the sales tax portion via cash or check,” the CrossState association said at the time the legislation as being considered. “Merchants also would send payment companies additional information about a person’s shopping habits, creating enormous consumer privacy issues.”
Tens of Thousands of Letters
According to the CrossState Association, the unified efforts of the Electronic Payment Coalition led to nearly 30,000 letters to Pennsylvania lawmakers and “made it impossible for lawmakers to avoid hearing the negative impacts this experimental bill would have on Pennsylvania’s small businesses and consumers.”
The association noted the state legislature has adjourned and is not scheduled to return to Harrisburg until September.