Senate Passes Credit and Debit Card Interchange Reforms
Christine Cunnick National Grocers Association
N.G.A. Commends Senator Durbin’s Leadership on Victory
ARLINGTON, VA
Major amendment to reform the excessive debit card interchange fees and restrictive practices imposed on retail grocers and other merchants nationwide by the credit card networks and their largest banks that have assets of $10 billion dollars or more. Under the sponsorship and leadership of Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) the amendment to the pending Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, S. 3217, authorizes the Federal Reserve to undertake rulemaking to establish that debit interchange fees shall be reasonable and proportional to the actual cost incurred by the payment card networks.
In addition, the amendment would allow merchants to offer discounts or incentives for customers to use competing card networks and for customers to pay by cash, check or debit card and allow merchants to choose to set a minimum or maximum amount to use a credit card. These are practices that the current credit card network rules prohibit merchants from offering.
“Senator Durbin is to be commended for his determination and leadership in support of efforts by merchants to level the playing field against the unfair and anti-competitive interchange fees and restrictive practices that have been set by the credit card networks and their largest banks. This is a significant win for consumers and merchants who will benefit from these reforms,” said Tom Wenning, N.G.A. Executive Vice President and General Counsel.
N.G.A.’s independent community focused retail and wholesale grocers, along with other merchants nationwide played a vital role in the win through their grassroots contacts in support of Senator Durbin’s amendment. After more than four years of educating members of Congress, passage of the Durbin amendment breaks the legislative logjam to offer consumers and merchants relief from excessive interchange fees and abusive rules. For the last month N.G.A. members and merchants from across the country have contacted their Senators to support these reforms. Congress will now have to complete passage of the financial regulatory reform legislation with the Durbin amendment included and send it to the President for his signature into law. A goal that N.G.A. will continue to advocate and support.
-The United States Senate by a bipartisan vote of 64 to 33 on May 10, passed a N.G.A. is the national trade association representing the retail and wholesale grocers that comprise the independent sector of the food distribution industry. An independent retailer is a privately owned or controlled food retail company operating a variety of formats. Most independent operators are serviced by wholesale distributors, while others may be partially or fully self-distributing. Some are publicly traded but with controlling shares held by the family and others are employee owned. Independents are the true “entrepreneurs” of the grocery industry and dedicated to their customers, associates, and communities. N.G.A. members include retail and wholesale grocers, state grocers associations, as well as manufacturers and service suppliers. For more information about N.G.A. and the independent sector of the industry, see the N.G.A. website: www.NationalGrocers.org
