The Durbin-Marshall Bill

The Durbin-Marshall Bill (S. 4674) is currently on the Senate floor. If passed, this bill will allow retailers to pick and choose which network – even the cheapest and least secure – they use for credit card transactions.

Anytime you use your credit or debit card, a small fee is included in the transaction, this is called an interchange fee. Interchange is what credit unions, other financial institutions, card networks, and payments processors use to guarantee full payments and recover expenses, such as fraud and theft, fraud monitoring issuing and reissuing cards, and administrative costs. 

If S. 4674 is passed, retailers will most likely select the cheapest, less secure network used to process all card transactions. Interchange is the safety net that helps us help members like you when merchant data is compromised. Interchange should only be reduced when merchants are going to start being held financially responsible for their data breaches. 

Not only will this bill change the security level of transactions, but it also poses a risk of limiting the type of cards accepted. A change to the current system could mean our credit cards might not work, with charges declined at some retailers or in some locations while traveling. 

When a data breach or unauthorized use of a card occurs, Neighborhood CU often bears much of the cost as we take action to limit our members’ risk. These costs include:  

As the cost of these data breaches rise, it’s more important than ever for Neighborhood CU to collect interchange fees.  

To keep it simple, the current system works! Consumers have a safe, reliable credit payment system and merchants are made whole at time of sale. The changes proposed by these lawmakers will lead to less secure, less innovative, and higher-risk transactions for all American consumers. If passed, consumers, small businesses, and small community financial institutions will lose the most. Help us by contacting your federal lawmakers today and ask them to vote no on S. 4674.