Centennial State News

Madlynn Schreibvogel, Vice President of Public Relations at GoWest Credit Union Association, said that financial institutions bear the cost and responsibility for fraud protection and credit access, not merchants. This statement was made during an interview on April 11.

"When there is a retail breach, the financial institutions – not the merchants – bear the burden," said Schreibvogel. "Interchange is a small price to ensure that people and businesses have access to credit and safe transactions. Financial institutions agreed to provide instant payment, manage final settlement and fraud. Retailers would be required to “chase checks” when a returned or insufficient funds transaction occurred."

The Credit Card Competition Act, introduced by Senators Dick Durbin and Roger Marshall, aims to enhance competition in the credit card processing market. The proposed legislation would require large banks to offer at least two unaffiliated networks for transaction routing. Proponents argue this measure could reduce merchant fees and benefit consumers. However, opponents, including major banks and credit unions, argue it might compromise payment security and increase operational costs. The bill is currently under consideration in Congress, with ongoing debates about its potential impact on the financial industry.

According to IBM's 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach in the financial sector reached $6.08 million, which is 22% higher than the global average of $4.88 million. These costs include expenses related to fraud prevention measures, customer notification, legal fees, and reimbursement to affected consumers.

A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City indicates that following the U.S. migration to EMV chip-card technology in the mid-2010s, card-present fraud loss rates declined for issuers but increased for merchants and cardholders. Specifically, for non-prepaid debit card transactions processed by dual-message networks, the counterfeit fraud rate has not declined while lost-or-stolen fraud rates and overall card-present fraud rates have increased.

Schreibvogel serves as Vice President of Public Relations at GoWest Credit Union Association where she is responsible for amplifying the association's public presence and educating consumers about credit union benefits. Prior to this role, she held various positions in financial communications.

The GoWest Credit Union Association is a regional trade organization representing more than 300 credit unions across six states: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. Founded to advocate for the credit union charter, GoWest serves approximately 17.4 million consumer members. The association engages in ongoing dialogues with state and federal regulators to promote the interests of credit unions and their members.