In a win for America’s credit unions, Senator Roger Marshall (R-Ks.) has backed away from adding his controversial Credit Card Competition Act as an amendment to a cryptocurrency bill, but industry advocates warn that the battle over credit card interchange fees is just getting started.
Following news that Marshall would not offer the amendment during this week’s Senate Agriculture Committee markup, America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Scott Simpson released a statement thanking credit unions and leagues for their mobilization efforts while making it clear: This fight isn’t over.
“America’s Credit Unions, leagues and credit unions worked hard to keep Senator Marshall’s credit card swipe fee amendment off of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s crypto bill,” Simpson said. “But, as we have said, attempting to attach these credit card mandates to a cryptocurrency bill does not change the underlying facts.”
Defense Credit Union Council EVP Advocacy Jason Stverak added during a press call prior to the rescission, “We have continually been updating our advocacy committee and our member CEOs. We urged them over the weekend to contact their senators who sit on the Senate Ag Committee and make sure they understand the gravity of moving forward with this type of legislation and the impact it would have on credit unions’ ability to serve our nation’s armed forces veterans in the community and communities all across the nation.”
What’s Really at Stake
The Credit Card Competition Act, co-sponsored by Marshall and Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), would require banks with more than $100 billion in assets to enable at least two unaffiliated payment networks on credit cards, as the 2010 Durbin Amendment did for debit cards. Proponents, including President Trump who endorsed the bill earlier this month, argue it would break up the “Visa-Mastercard duopoly” and save merchants and consumers an estimated $17 billion annually.
But credit unions aren’t buying it.
“The Credit Card Competition Act is bad policy that would disrupt a secure and well-functioning credit card system in ways that hurt consumers and small financial institutions while delivering a windfall to the largest retailers in the country,” Simpson said. “Forcing routing mandates into the payments system increases fraud risk, weakens consumer protections, and ultimately limits access to affordable credit for millions of credit union members.”
Déjà Vu: The Durbin Amendment Lesson
For credit unions, this debate triggers painful memories. The 2010 Durbin Amendment capped debit card interchange fees for credit unions and banks with more than $10 billion in assets, supposedly exempting smaller institutions. But according to Federal Reserve data, credit unions still saw a 30% decrease in their interchange revenue as market pressures distorted the entire financial ecosystem.
“Despite their mission-driven, not-for-profit structure, credit unions still felt the consequences of the 2010 Durbin Amendment on debit interchange, as price controls distorted the entire financial ecosystem,” Simpson noted. “Costs and lost revenues were shifted onto credit unions, weakening the very institutions that exist to serve working families and local communities.”
That history lesson is driving the industry’s fierce opposition. As one America’s Credit Unions resource states: “History has already taught us that the market pressures of the new credit card routing requirements would affect smaller institutions in the same way that the Durbin Amendment led to a loss of interchange revenue even for the below-threshold financial institutions it claimed to exempt.”
Why This Matters Beyond Interchange Fees
The stakes extend beyond revenue. Credit unions argue that the CCCA would:
- Increase fraud risk: Texas A&M University research suggests the bill could double fraud to $20 billion over the next decade
- Eliminate rewards programs: Economic analysis from Oxford Economics estimates the bill could cost the U.S. economy $228 billion and 156,000 jobs by gutting rewards programs that support travel and tourism
- Raise consumer costs: Following the Durbin Amendment, the Government Accountability Office found that 65% of checking accounts that would have been free were no longer free at covered banks
- Hurt credit access: Reduced revenue means less ability to extend credit, particularly to underserved communities
What’s Next?
While Marshall withdrew the amendment this round, the CCCA remains very much in play. The bill has bipartisan support, Trump’s endorsement and backing from major labor unions and retail groups. Marshall and Durbin have proven persistent, pushing variations of this legislation since 2022 and successfully tucking it into amendments on larger bills before.
The crypto bill strategy may have failed, but as Simpson’s statement makes clear, credit unions expect lawmakers to continue facing pressure to revive this “flawed policy.”
For credit union leaders, the message is simple: stay engaged. The industry mobilization that kept the CCCA off the GENIUS Act proves that grassroots advocacy works. With over 3,700 messages sent in under two weeks, credit unions demonstrated they can move quickly when needed.
The next fight could be just around the corner and credit unions need to be ready.