Washington, D.C. – Later today, Congressman Chaffetz (R-UT) and Congressman Bill Owens (D-NY) will introduce legislation to repeal the debit card interchange price control provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and restore balance to the electronic payments system.
“This is a perfect example of the dangers of price controls and the inefficiency of government intervention in the free market,” said Chaffetz. “The Durbin Amendment is an affront to consumers and the banking industry. These legislatively enacted price controls have compelled banks to charge consumers higher (and in some cases new) fees to make up for lost revenue.”
The Durbin Amendment that was included in the Dodd-Frank bill, places a cap on per-transaction “swipe fees” that banks charge retailers when purchases are made via debit cards. The old fee was roughly 44 cents per transaction. The Durbin Amendment limits this to 21 cents per transaction, which ultimately results in higher fees passed down to the consumer.
“Repealing the Durbin Amendment fixes the disastrous consequences of this bill. Consumers everywhere are living on the margins and making do with less. Congress must repeal this egregious provision that increases the costs of doing business on everyone,” said Chaffetz.
“The Durbin Amendment is harmful for community banks, credit unions and the communities they serve,” said Owens. “While Congress clearly intended to exempt these smaller institutions from the cap on interchange fees, it’s clear the Durbin Amendment will have unintended costly consequences for my constituents and their checking accounts.”
Click here to read the full text of H.R. 3156, the Consumer Debit Card Protection Act.
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