Ever since U.S. Senators Dick Durbin of Illinois and Roger Marshall of Kansas introduced the Credit Card Competition Act last year, we haven’t been surprised at the bipartisan support the legislation has received. After all, the bill promises to contain credit card acceptance costs for merchants, and to do it …

The Electronic Payments Coalition issued a press release late Tuesday taking issue with a New York Times op-ed video that argues merchants and consumers already pay a high price for rewards cards and expresses support for the Credit Card Competition Act. In its rebuttal responding to the video, Richard Hunt, …

The Federal Reserve Board of Governors will consider revisions to its cap on debit card swipe fees at its meeting next Wednesday. The announcement was made as part of a public notice about the upcoming board meeting. While no further details were provided about the Fed’s intentions, retailers made it …

Eric Cohen’s Commentary, “Whey the Credit Card Competition Act Falls Short,” posted here Oct. 9, makes three key claims about how the Credit Card Competition Act would supposedly harm small businesses and consumers. All of them are wrong.First, he says the bill would allow merchants “to choose their own network” …

Credit card interchange has come under assault, and not for the first time. Now, though, the stakes are higher than ever. The cleverly crafted “Credit Card Competition Act of 2023” from Sens. Durbin, Marshall, Welch, and Vance is the latest salvo in a forever war against payments-industry fees, including how …

Supporters and U.S. Senate sponsors of the Credit Card Competition Act stepped up pressure to pass the bill Wednesday with a Washington press conference featuring Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). The legislators attacked merchants’ card-transaction costs as price gouging and said the levies make …

In a major case whose effects could ripple widely across the payments industry, Block Inc. this summer sued Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc., alleging the global networks worked together to fix interchange fees paid by Block’s Square operation. Square, which processes card transactions for millions of mostly small sellers, pays …

The Credit Card Competition Act is back in play. But as Congress debates the bill, a pressing question looms about its biggest requirement: Who are the Visa and Mastercard alternatives supposed to be? Senator Richard Durbin is back at it. After failing to advance the Credit Card Competition Act out …

The latest battle in the war over the proposed Credit Card Competition Act has focused on the question whether the legislation would cut rewards and other benefits for cardholders. Citing research from the consulting firm CMSPI, the Merchants Payments Coalition, a lobbying group for sellers, argues that passage of the …

It’s July, the peak of summer-vacation season, so we apologize in advance if we’re interrupting your beach time with a message about the mundane mechanics of payments. But butt in we will, if only because the the topic of acceptance costs just won’t yield to a seasonal hiatus. As you …