As the Durbin Amendment marks its 14th anniversary, the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) conducted a Halloween-themed campaign on Capitol Hill to emphasize what it describes as negative outcomes from debit card mandates. The effort is part of a broader initiative by EPC to inform lawmakers about the potential consequences of similar proposed credit card regulations.
EPC distributed packages containing fact sheets to Congressional offices, outlining their concerns regarding the Durbin debit mandates. The coalition warns that if Congress passes new credit card mandates backed by Senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall, consumers and businesses could experience similar effects.
The press release recalls that when the original debit card mandates were introduced, large retailers suggested savings would be passed on to consumers. According to EPC, this did not happen. The statement highlights comments from then–Home Depot CFO Carol Tomé, who said the company benefited by $35 million annually from the changes but did not mention consumer savings.
Citing research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, EPC points out that 98% of retailers either increased prices or kept them unchanged after implementation of the debit card rules.
According to EPC, community financial institutions also experienced reduced interchange revenue despite being exempt from some provisions. Small businesses reportedly saw higher processing costs for low-value transactions.
“Corporate mega-store lobbyists and a few Washington politicians are pushing new government mandates as a win for consumers, but they are really costly tricks instead of treats for consumers and small businesses,” said EPC Executive Chairman Richard Hunt. “These mandates drive up prices, threaten valuable reward programs and jeopardize your data security and fraud protections. Government mandates on your credit card are not reform — they are giveaways to the largest corporate retailers paid for by American cardholders and the small businesses these mega-stores are trying to drive out of business.”
EPC advocates for investment in new technologies and national data security standards as ways to improve payment systems rather than imposing further government requirements.