Continuing the interchange fight

We’re continuing the pressure against the big box interchange bill as Congress heads into the final weeks before the holiday break.

Credit unions have known since before the Durbin Amendment that government price controls on interchange are bad news for community-based financial institutions, but we need to continue to pro-actively stifle any potential support.

The Miami Herald published my op-ed Monday calling on Congress to reject the big box retailers’ push for a bailout paid for by consumers. I cited a George Mason University study estimating the Durbin Amendment led to an additional 1 million people becoming unbanked in the years since it was enacted. We can’t afford to let history repeat itself.

Maine Credit Union League Vice President of Governmental Affairs Robert Caverly wrote in the Portland Press Herald that the bill would hamper the credit union mission of supporting communities and small businesses.

 

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