WASHINGTON—As the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) reemerges as a credible legislative threat, the Defense Credit Union Council moved quickly to push back, urging Senate leaders to block what it calls a sweeping and misguided attempt to rewrite U.S. credit-card interchange policy.
In a letter to Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, DCUC called on lawmakers to reject inclusion of the CCCA (Durbin–Marshall amendment) in an upcoming digital-assets legislative markup. The letter argues that attaching credit-card interchange policy to unrelated crypto legislation would sidestep proper committee oversight, weaken legislative transparency, and undermine regular order.
DCUC contends the CCCA represents a major overhaul of U.S. credit-card routing and interchange rules that does not belong in digital-asset legislation. The group argues that payments, interchange, and consumer-credit policy should instead be debated through the Senate Banking Committee, warning that advancing the measure through an unrelated markup risks limiting stakeholder input and eroding confidence in the legislative process.
“Substantively, the Durbin–Marshall CCCA amendment would harm consumers, credit unions, and the military community without delivering its promised benefits,” wrote Stverak. “Government-mandated interchange routing changes do not benefit consumers – DCUC and many others have been clear and consistent on this point. We have seen this story before. The experience with the 2010 Durbin Amendment debit interchange cap shows that promised savings for consumers never materialized.”
In fact, merchants largely kept the windfall: a Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond survey found a significant share of retailers raised prices or imposed new debit card restrictions after the Durbin Amendment, rather than passing along any savings to customers, Stverak stated.
“Indeed, one analysis by the Congressional Research Service found that 98% of merchants either raised prices or kept them the same after the Durbin debit caps – meaning consumers saw no relief at the checkout,” Stverak said. “There is no evidence that imposing similar routing mandates on credit cards would be any different. Lower interchange fees chiefly pad the profits of big-box retailers, not the wallets of everyday Americans.”
At the same time, the CCCA’s interchange restrictions would inflict real costs on credit unions and their members, Stverak said.
“Especially those who serve our military,” he said. “This is a policy choice about who bears the cost: the CCCA would shift costs onto consumers and community financial institutions in order to boost large merchants’ bottom lines. DCUC finds that outcome unacceptable, and we believe lawmakers should as well."