Centennial State News

The GoWest Credit Union Association – Colorado is one of 48 state credit union groups to oppose the "Credit Card Competition Act.”

That's according to a list of state financial organizations that signed on to 2024 Congressional letters opposing the legislation and released by the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC).

The U.S. Senate sponsor of those regulations, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (R-Ill.) recently said he plans to re-introduce the legislation in the current congressional session, reported Payments Dive. 

“If the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill were enacted, it would force an overhaul of the payments landscape at significant systemic cost – a cost ultimately borne by consumers and the local financial institutions that serve them.” said the EPC web site. “Many credit unions and community banks would retreat from card issuance in response.”

“The legislation is poorly conceived and would exclusively benefit corporate mega-stores like Walmart and Target,” said the EPC.

Originally sponsored by Durbin and U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kans.), the legislation would require banks to offer merchants at least two network options, one of which cannot be Visa or Mastercard, for processing credit card transactions. 

Opponents of the bill argue that if given the choice, retailers would likely choose cheaper, less secure networks for processing transactions, thereby exposing consumers to increased securities and fraud risks.  

Nationally, the bill could lead to a $227 billion loss in U.S. economic activity and 156,000 lost jobs, according to an analysis conducted for EPC by Oxford Economics Research (OER).

The bill applies to credit cards what a similar measure in 2010, often referred to as the “Durbin Amendment,” applied to debit cards. The 2010 measure was a requirement of the “Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.”

A 2014 George Mason University study found that the 2010 “Durbin Amendment” led to a 50% reduction in the number of “fee-free” accounts offered by banks between 2009 and 2013, and doubled average monthly fees on “non-free” current bank accounts. 

The study also said the measure resulted in an increase of 1 million "unbanked" Americans in the year after the measure was enacted. 

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Which state credit unions oppose the “Credit Card Competition Act”?

State		Organization
Alabama		Alabama Credit Union Association
Alaska		Alaska Credit Union League
Arizona		GoWest Credit Union Association – Arizona
Arkansas		Arkansas Credit Union Association
California		California Credit Union League
Colorado		GoWest Credit Union Association – Colorado
Conecticut		Credit Union League of Connecticut
Delaware		Delaware’s Credit Unions – Cooperative Credit Union Association
Florida		Florida Credit Union Association
Georgia		Georgia Credit Union Association
Hawaii		Hawaii Credit Union League
Idaho		GoWest Credit Union Association – Idaho
Illinois		Illinois Credit Union System
Indiana		Indiana Credit Union League
Iowa		Iowa Credit Union League
Kansas		Kansas Credit Union Association
Kentucky		Kentucky Credit Union League
Louisiana		Louisiana Credit Union League
Maine		Maine Credit Union League
Maryland / DC		Maryland and DC Credit Union Association
Massachusetts		Massachusetts’ Credit Unions – Cooperative Credit Union Association
Michigan		Michigan Credit Union League
Minnesota		Minnesota Credit Union Network
Mississippi		Mississippi Credit Union Association
Missouri		Missouri Credit Union Association
Montana		Montana’s Credit Unions
Multi-state		CrossState Credit Union Association
Nebraska		Nebraska Credit Union League and Affiliates
Nevada		Nevada Credit Union League
New Hampshire		New Hampshire’s Credit Unions – Cooperative Credit Union Association
New Mexico		Credit Union Association of New Mexico
New York		New York Credit Union Association
North Carolina		Carolinas Credit Union League – North Carolina
North Dakota / South Dakota		Dakota Credit Union Association
Ohio		Ohio Credit Union League
Oklahoma		Oklahoma Credit Union Association
Oregon		GoWest Credit Union Association – Oregon
Rhode Island		Rhode Island’s Credit Unions – Cooperative Credit Union Association
South Carolina		Carolinas Credit Union League – South Carolina
Tennessee		Tennessee Credit Union League
Texas		Texas Credit Union Association
Utah		Utah’s Credit Unions
Vermont		Association of Vermont Credit Unions
Virginia		Virginia Credit Union League
Washington		GoWest Credit Union Association – Washington
West Virginia		West Virginia Credit Union League
Wisconsin		Wisconsin Credit Union League
Wyoming		GoWest Credit Union Association – Wyoming