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Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Credit card bill crusade persists
This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. Sens. Roger Marshall and Dick Durbin failed last week to inch their Credit Card Competition Act legislation forward by means of the GENIUS Stablecoin. They had sought to attach an amendment with their CCCA language to the stablecoin bill in an effort to have a larger piece of legislation take their stalled proposal across the finish line in Congress. Instead, a battle royal – pitting retail and merchant interests against those of banks and card networks – is set to continue as the senators take aim at fees charged every time a consumer swipes a credit card. Retailers, restaurants and other merchants argue the fees are an undue and costly burden for stores and restaurants. To ease that expense, the senators contend their bill would inject competition into an industry dominated by Visa and Mastercard by requiring bank card issuers to make an alternative network available. That would be a mistake in the view of bank card issuers and the card networks that argue these fees pay for needed security and popular loyalty programs. In an interview last week, Richard Hunt, the executive chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition, called out the irony of attaching the CCCA language to a stablecoin framework bill, noting that the cryptocurrency would introduce the competition for cards that Marshall and Durbin crave. It smacks of double-speak when the merchant camp suggests stablecoins are a new payment possibility, but still contend cards need more competition, he said. That sentiment draws attention to the swarm of new digital payments rivals have sprung up over the past two decades since a predecessor to PayPal Holdings was founded in 1998, and more recently with the ascent of Apple Pay and Google Pay. Presumably, those new options have swamped cards with more competition. But that's not necessarily the case, partly because many of those new digital tools still connect to credit cards, buttressing the position of big card issuers, such as JPMorgan Chase and Capital One, as well as the networks, namely the dominant players, Visa and Mastercard. The strength of the card fortress was demonstrated by an Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank report last month presenting survey results that showed credit cards were consumers' preferred payment option 35% of the time. It also showed the credit card share expanding more than other methods. Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, and Marshall, a Republican from Kansas, say they're pushing their bill on behalf of big and small merchants, arguing that credit card fees often eat up a significant portion of businesses' slim margins. Groups representing merchants, including NACS, aka the National Association of Convenience Stores, made clear last week that they'll keep pushing to pass the CCCA provisions. Marshall has taken the lead recently on an effort started by decades ago by Durbin, who has said he won't seek re-election. 'The banks have been so overly aggressive in advertising against him in Kansas, and doing some other things, that they made it a top priority for him,' NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor said of Marshall in an interview last week. 'They made him angry.' Spokespeople for Durbin and Marshall have declined to comment, but the Merchants Payments Coalition said the latest CCCA campaign brought a 'surge of support.' Whether or not stablecoins ever become a true threat to cards remains to be seen. One industry consultant, Peter Tapling, says they have the potential to challenge cards, but he doesn't see them as a threat to Visa or Mastercard at the moment. Tapling points to Paze, the Early Warning Services digital wallet that's struggled to get traction, as evidence of how difficult it is to lure consumers and merchants to new forms of payment. It's always the chicken-egg problem – will consumers demand to use it enough for merchants to adopt it or will merchants make it available enough that consumers gravitate to it, he said in an interview Friday. Back in Washington, Kantor says CCCA supporters are already hunting for the next piece of legislation capable of carrying the bill to passage. Recommended Reading Walmart, Kroger eye instant payments Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate lines up major step toward passing stablecoin bill
The Senate is poised to hold another key procedural vote on stablecoin legislation Wednesday, clearing the way for the crypto bill after several controversial amendments threatened to complicate its path forward. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) moved to end debate Monday on the updated text of the GENIUS Act, struck as part of a bipartisan agreement after two weeks of frantic negotiations last month between Republicans and crypto-friendly Democrats. The move appears to end Thune's push to pass the bill via so-called 'regular order,' which would have opened up floor proceedings on the stablecoin legislation to dozens of amendments in a lengthy process that risked derailing final passage. 'I think at this point it's a good thing, because the longer it sat around, the more people picked at it, and it would have died from death by 1000 cuts, if we would have waited longer,' Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told The Hill on Tuesday. 'And I think that Sen. Thune was seeing that, and so he decided to move forward just with the changes that were made in negotiations with the Democrats,' she continued, noting that she expects the updated text to be the final version of the bill. A Senate aide said Tuesday that no final decision had been made yet on amendments but underscored that the timeframe was shrinking ahead of Wednesday's vote. A key point of contention has been the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), which Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) offered up as an amendment. However, it seems increasingly unlikely that the bill will get a vote as part of the GENIUS Act. 'There's a couple of GOP Senators who wish to avoid a vote on CCCA at all costs, and an open amendment process on this was a major threat to that end,' a senior GOP staffer familiar with what transpired told The Hill. 'Obviously, Leader Thune ran the calculus, and ultimately decided to toss the process out in order to move on Genius,' they continued. 'There's very little Senator Marshall can do at this point, disappointed as he likely is.' The CCCA seeks to take aim at credit card swipe fees — the fees charged to retailers every time a customer swipes a credit card. Marshall and his Democratic co-sponsor, Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), have argued Visa and Mastercard have a duopoly over the credit card market, leading to higher swipe fees. Their proposal would require large financial institutions to provide an option other than Visa or Mastercard to process credit card transactions. The legislation has been the subject of fierce lobbying. While retailers have embraced the bill, the credit card industry has aggressively opposed the measure, arguing it would enrich major retailers and force credit card companies to do away with popular rewards programs. 'The Credit Card Competition Act has been controversial for a while in D.C.,' said Christopher Niebuhr, a senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors. 'The inclusion of the Credit Card Competition Act as an amendment, were it to get an amendment vote, would certainly add a little bit of risk or uncertainty as to the path forward for the GENIUS Act,' he added. Lummis suggested Tuesday part of the push to include other measures in the stablecoin bill stems from a lack of movement on legislation in the Senate Banking Committee over the years. 'This is the first bill that's been reported out of the Banking Committee in eight years,' she said. 'So, there was a lot of pent-up desire to append other legislation that was financial services related to this bill. Some of that legislation is kind of controversial, so I get it.' 'I get why people are frustrated that they haven't had an opportunity to have their financial service related legislation heard,' she continued. 'But there will be other legislation that will come out of the Banking Committee, so they'll have other chances.' While some GOP senators may be breathing a sigh of relief, the decision to move forward on the GENIUS Act without an open amendment process is raising questions for some Democrats, including those who initially supported the bill with the hopes of making changes down the line. 'I was glad about some of the bipartisan progress that had been made,' Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) told The Hill. 'It was one of the reasons I voted the bill out of committee in the first place, was with the agreement that there would be amendments.' Blunt Rochester was one of five Democrats who joined their Republican colleague to vote the legislation out of the Senate Banking Committee in March. She and 15 other Democrats also supported the GENIUS Act in a procedural vote on the Senate floor last month. However, she noted at the time that she wanted to see further changes to protect consumers and the stability of the financial system, as well as to prevent fraud and address President Trump's growing ties to the crypto industry. 'I was really clear,' Blunt Rochester added Tuesday. 'I hoped that there would be an open amendment process, and that's what I heard Leader Thune say around last month, so I will take a look at this language, and we'll make a decision from there.' Thune repeatedly emphasized last month that he planned to move the GENIUS Act through the Senate via 'regular order,' allowing for an open amendment process on the floor. This was central to his criticism of Democrats, who initially blocked the legislation from moving forward on the Senate floor in early May. When Thune first sought to expedite the stablecoin bill, a contingent of crypto-friendly Democrats pulled their support, alleging Republicans had prematurely cut off negotiations and ultimately voting down a motion to advance the bill. The Senate majority leader slammed Democrats at the time, arguing they would have a chance to make changes on the floor. 'All they had to do was vote for cloture. Not every bill that comes to the floor is a final bill. Now, that might be how it worked when they were in control, but Republicans are doing it differently,' Thune said in early May. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a fierce crypto critic who has opposed the bill, warned Tuesday that limiting amendments could undermine support for the legislation. 'Sen. Thune has repeatedly promised that he would open up the legislative process for amendments, and this is his first chance to do that, and he's gone back on his promise,' Warren told The Hill. 'It is possible that there will be people who will say that they voted to advance the bill, but without amendments, they can't do that anymore,' she added. However, lead Democratic negotiators on the GENIUS Act have underscored the wins they secured through discussions Republicans. 'I think we have worked hard to incorporate many of the concerns that we have heard from our colleagues,' Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) told The Hill on Tuesday, adding, 'We had many, many amendments along the way that have been incorporated. Always we would like to have more, but it was a really solidly bipartisan effort.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
11-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Senate lines up major step toward passing stablecoin bill
The Senate is poised to hold another key procedural vote on stablecoin legislation Wednesday, clearing the way for the crypto bill after several controversial amendments threatened to complicate its path forward. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) moved to end debate Monday on the updated text of the GENIUS Act, struck as part of a bipartisan agreement after two weeks of frantic negotiations last month between Republicans and crypto-friendly Democrats. The move appears to end Thune's push to pass the bill via so-called 'regular order,' which would have opened up floor proceedings on the stablecoin legislation to dozens of amendments in a lengthy process that risked derailing final passage. 'I think at this point it's a good thing, because the longer it sat around, the more people picked at it, and it would have died from death by 1000 cuts, if we would have waited longer,' Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) told The Hill on Tuesday. 'And I think that Sen. Thune was seeing that, and so he decided to move forward just with the changes that were made in negotiations with the Democrats,' she continued, noting that she expects the updated text to be the final version of the bill. A Senate aide said Tuesday that no final decision had been made yet on amendments but underscored that the timeframe was shrinking ahead of Wednesday's vote. A key point of contention has been the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), which Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) offered up as an amendment. However, it seems increasingly unlikely that the bill will get a vote as part of the GENIUS Act. 'There's a couple of GOP Senators who wish to avoid a vote on CCCA at all costs, and an open amendment process on this was a major threat to that end,' a senior GOP staffer familiar with what transpired told The Hill. 'Obviously, Leader Thune ran the calculus, and ultimately decided to toss the process out in order to move on Genius,' they continued. 'There's very little Senator Marshall can do at this point, disappointed as he likely is.' The CCCA seeks to take aim at credit card swipe fees — the fees charged to retailers every time a customer swipes a credit card. Marshall and his Democratic co-sponsor, Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), have argued Visa and Mastercard have a duopoly over the credit card market, leading to higher swipe fees. Their proposal would require large financial institutions to provide an option other than Visa or Mastercard to process credit card transactions. The legislation has been the subject of fierce lobbying. While retailers have embraced the bill, the credit card industry has aggressively opposed the measure, arguing it would enrich major retailers and force credit card companies to do away with popular rewards programs. 'The Credit Card Competition Act has been controversial for a while in D.C.,' said Christopher Niebuhr, a senior research analyst at Beacon Policy Advisors. 'The inclusion of the Credit Card Competition Act as an amendment, were it to get an amendment vote, would certainly add a little bit of risk or uncertainty as to the path forward for the GENIUS Act,' he added. Lummis suggested Tuesday part of the push to include other measures in the stablecoin bill stems from a lack of movement on legislation in the Senate Banking Committee over the years. 'This is the first bill that's been reported out of the Banking Committee in eight years,' she said. 'So, there was a lot of pent-up desire to append other legislation that was financial services related to this bill. Some of that legislation is kind of controversial, so I get it.' 'I get why people are frustrated that they haven't had an opportunity to have their financial service related legislation heard,' she continued. 'But there will be other legislation that will come out of the Banking Committee, so they'll have other chances.' While some GOP senators may be breathing a sigh of relief, the decision to move forward on the GENIUS Act without an open amendment process is raising questions for some Democrats, including those who initially supported the bill with the hopes of making changes down the line. 'I was glad about some of the bipartisan progress that had been made,' Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) told The Hill. 'It was one of the reasons I voted the bill out of committee in the first place, was with the agreement that there would be amendments.' Blunt Rochester was one of five Democrats who joined their Republican colleague to vote the legislation out of the Senate Banking Committee in March. She and 15 other Democrats also supported the GENIUS Act in a procedural vote on the Senate floor last month. However, she noted at the time that she wanted to see further changes to protect consumers and the stability of the financial system, as well as to prevent fraud and address President Trump's growing ties to the crypto industry. 'I was really clear,' Blunt Rochester added Tuesday. 'I hoped that there would be an open amendment process, and that's what I heard Leader Thune say around last month, so I will take a look at this language, and we'll make a decision from there.' Thune repeatedly emphasized last month that he planned to move the GENIUS Act through the Senate via 'regular order,' allowing for an open amendment process on the floor. This was central to his criticism of Democrats, who initially blocked the legislation from moving forward on the Senate floor in early May. When Thune first sought to expedite the stablecoin bill, a contingent of crypto-friendly Democrats pulled their support, alleging Republicans had prematurely cut off negotiations and ultimately voting down a motion to advance the bill. The Senate majority leader slammed Democrats at the time, arguing they would have a chance to make changes on the floor. 'All they had to do was vote for cloture. Not every bill that comes to the floor is a final bill. Now, that might be how it worked when they were in control, but Republicans are doing it differently,' Thune said in early May. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a fierce crypto critic who has opposed the bill, warned Tuesday that limiting amendments could undermine support for the legislation. 'Sen. Thune has repeatedly promised that he would open up the legislative process for amendments, and this is his first chance to do that, and he's gone back on his promise,' Warren told The Hill. 'It is possible that there will be people who will say that they voted to advance the bill, but without amendments, they can't do that anymore,' she added. However, lead Democratic negotiators on the GENIUS Act have underscored the wins they secured through discussions Republicans. 'I think we have worked hard to incorporate many of the concerns that we have heard from our colleagues,' Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) told The Hill on Tuesday, adding, 'We had many, many amendments along the way that have been incorporated. Always we would like to have more, but it was a really solidly bipartisan effort.'
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Durbin rounds up CCCA support
This story was originally published on Payments Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Payments Dive newsletter. Sen. Dick Durbin met with members of retail and restaurant associations this week, plugging his previously proposed Credit Card Competition Act, but he still hasn't introduced the bill this congressional session. When Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, spoke at the National Restaurant Association's annual conference in Washington on Wednesday, he recounted how small business owners of gas stations and a convenience store are being hurt by the high cost of swipe fees they pay on credit card transactions. The expense of the fees is eliminating their profits in some cases, he said in a release regarding his appearance at the conference. Durbin urged restaurateurs to explain their credit card cost plight to their congressional members. 'Tell your representative how swipe fees take up a huge portion of your budget, how they prevent you from lowering prices, and how you are not able to hire additional employees,' the release said. For two decades, Durbin has been spearheading efforts to reduce fees that merchants are charged by bank card issuers and their card network partners. He pushed legislation that helped cap debit card fees as part of the 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Durbin has blamed Visa and Mastercard for being a duopoly that has increased the fees. In the past two years, Durbin teamed up with Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas to sponsor the CCCA, which would encourage competition in the network arena by forcing bank card issuers to ensure that merchants have an alternative network to Visa and Mastercard for routing their credit card transactions. Currently, merchants pay between 2% and 3% in fees every time a consumer uses a credit card to pay. On Thursday, some members of the National Retail Federation also met with Durbin in his Washington office to speak about the card fee issue and his plan to reintroduce the CCCA bill, a spokesperson for the senator said. 'It was great to get some face time with him and talk about the path forward for the Credit Card Competition Act,' NRF's senior director of government relations, Dylan Jeon, said in a Friday interview. Nonetheless, it's not clear what's keeping Durbin from moving ahead with reintroducing the CCCA, given his office's stated plan to do so earlier this year. Marshall's office hasn't responded to a request for comment on the matter. 'We do plan to reintroduce, but I don't have a date yet,' said the spokesperson for Durbin, who asked not to be named. It's mainly a matter of timing and lining up support, Jeon said. 'We've been making sure to get all our ducks in a row and drop the bill at the right time with a good amount of support,' he said, contending that Marshall also remains committed to the bill. 'If enacted, the legislation would save merchants and consumers an estimated $15 billion each year, according to a Thursday press release Durbin issued after the meeting with retailers. Other members of Congress have introduced bills this year that would significantly reduce the cost of credit cards for consumers, capping interest rates on that lending at 10% for five years. Those bills were introduced in both the House and the Senate this year with bipartisan support. Recommended Reading Durbin to reintroduce credit card competition bill Sign in to access your portfolio
