Attention AmFirst members:
Last week, Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Roger Marshall, R-Kan., introduced a bill that would change the interchange system by allowing merchants to bypass established secure payment networks. Credit unions strongly oppose this legislation, as it would bring additional financial benefits to big box retailers at the expense of consumers.
Consumers across the country rely on credit cards to make life happen, from paying for groceries and school supplies to covering emergency car repairs or medical expenses. Accepted nearly everywhere, credit cards offer robust security, fraud protection, and access to credit that may not otherwise be available. Interchange keeps consumers, merchants, and financial institutions safe.
If retailers are allowed to simply select the cheaper networks that may not have invested in the latest security technology, consumer payment data will be vulnerable to foreign networks.
Routing mandates on credit cards will lead to less secure, less innovative, and higher-risk transactions for American consumers. We need to send a strong message to lawmakers that consumers, small businesses, and small community financial institutions will lose the most if this happens.
CLICK HERE, you can conveniently contact your federal lawmakers to inform them that the current interchange system in place benefits all stakeholders.
Make your voice heard today to protect credit unions and stop potential legislation that would be harmful to our industry.
