Press
Senate Votes Down Interchange Fee Reform Act
Merry Pateuk
PSCU Financial Services, Inc.
800-932-7728
mpateuk@pscufs.com
Robette Brooks
CCS/PR, Inc.
303-699-8861
rbrooks60@earthlink.net
St. Petersburg, FL, June 8, 2011 – Despite Herculean efforts by the credit union community, the Senate was unable to garner enough votes to pass the Debit Interchange Fee Reform Act of 2011 that would have allowed additional time for study, rule-writing and implementing of the Durbin amendment legislation governing debit interchange rates.
“While the initiative was not successful and we are disappointed with today’s vote, we would like to thank credit unions for their spirited advocacy efforts in this unprecedented communications campaign,” said Michael Kelly, President and CEO, PSCU Financial Services. “Legislators heard the concerns of the credit union community, but they were influenced by massive lobbying efforts conducted by major retailers. We are extremely concerned that this legislation creates an environment that negatively impacts consumers and credit unions while benefiting only a handful of merchants.”
Kelly added that PSCU Financial Services executives and managers will continue to work closely with payments industry and network partners including CUNA, NAFCU, andthe Electronic Payments Coalition to minimize the negative impacts resulting from changes to interchange fees. “On a tactical level we will continue to design new business strategies and share best practices that help credit unions succeed in this changing legislative climate,” he said.
There are still opportunities for credit union organizations to shape Federal Reserve rules regarding interchange, which are scheduled to be implemented on July 21. PSCU Financial Services’ cross-functional Interchange Working Group will analyze the language of the final rules when they are released and develop recommended business strategies to assist credit union members.
PSCU Financial Services will also play a leading role in communicating what new interchange rules mean to credit unions through interactive webinars that allow member credit unions to interact with industry experts about the new regulations.
About PSCU Financial Services
Based in St. Petersburg, Florida, PSCU Financial Services is the nation’s largest credit union service organization (CUSO) and serves more than 1,500 financial institutions
nationwide. As a non-profit cooperative, the company is owned by more than 680 member credit unions representing 16 million credit, debit, prepaid, electronic banking and online bill payment accounts. Its Contact Centers handle more than 18 million inquiries a year.
PSCU Financial Services offers 24/7 member support through four Contact Centers: its Eastern operations center in St. Petersburg, Fla.; a Western operations center based in
Phoenix, Ariz.; and two call centers in Detroit, Mich. These Contact Centers perform member servicing and new member acquisition, cross-selling and automated lending solutions as well as support for debit/credit/prepaid cardholders, electronic banking and online bill payment subscribers.
Established in 1977, the company provides a broad array of cost-effective, high quality financial services that include credit, debit, ATM, prepaid, bill payment, electronic banking and contact center solutions. PSCU Financial Services uniquely offers it’s members a full range of processing options, any combination from full service to in-house pass through processing for credit, debit and ATM transactions. As a leader in the credit union movement, the company offers gateway access to national and regional networks. It also provides full function ATM terminal driving services. For more information, visit PSCU Financial Services’ website at www.pscufs.com.
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