The New York Credit Union Association is urging its members to take action in opposition of the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023.
The Association has long opposed legislation that allows merchants to route payments through an unaffiliated network. On Wednesday, members of the U.S. Senate introduced the Credit Card Competition Act of 2023. The current system protects cards and competition for consumers and businesses.
The interchange fee is a portion of the merchant discount fee that the retailer’s financial institution pays to the cardholder’s credit union for the service of utilizing the card system and the benefits provided, including the avoidance of processing fees and ensuring guaranteed payments.
Interchange fees help credit unions protect consumer data and offer additional services like fraud monitoring needed as consumer data and privacy is consistently under attack by cyber criminals.
The Association cannot support any legislation that hands control of the nation’s credit card system to merchants that do not have our members privacy and interest in mind, only internal profit.