Newsroom
NAFCU calls on CUs to push back on interchange
NAFCU Vice President of Legislative Affairs Brad Thaler sent a message to members Monday, urging outreach to lawmakers to oppose the big box bailout bill – the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) – as efforts are underway to attach it to must-pass government funding bills. NAFCU has fought hard against the bill, and many credit unions joined the fight in Washington, D.C., at the association’s Congressional Caucus.
The bill, introduced in both the House and Senate, would increase the profits of big box retailers at the expense of consumers and financial institutions by creating government intervention in a free market and establish a backdoor price control on the credit card system.
In his message, Thaler urged credit unions to visit NAFCU’s Grassroots Action Center to write to their Senators in opposition to the bill. The message comes in response to an amendment filed by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., that would attach the CCCA to the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Marshall has threatened to delay the vote on the funding measure until the CCCA is considered.
NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger also wrote to the Senate last week on the bill. In the letter, Berger noted that the electronic payments system benefits both consumers and business. Additionally, he highlighted that the cost of interchange fees is already built into products and services as more businesses become cashless.
By using NAFCU’s Grassroots Action Center, credit unions can also write to their lawmakers on a variety of credit union issues – including expressing support for the Veterans Member Business Loan Act and the Member Business Loan Expansion Act. Stay tuned to NAFCU Today for the latest out of Washington.