House Republicans leaders decided this week to remove the repeal of swipe fee reform – also known as the Durbin Amendment — from the Financial CHOICE Act before it is voted on by the full House.
The move drew praise from retailers, who opposed efforts to repeal the provision passed in 2010 as part of Dodd-Frank Act that put a cap on charges stores pay banks when a customer uses the card.
“Preservation of swipe fee reform is an important victory for retailers and consumers who would have faced higher fees from the country’s largest banks with every swipe of a debit card,” said Austen Jensen, vice president of government affairs and financial services for the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA). “This victory should finally put to rest efforts to repeal the debit reforms that have saved retailers and their customers billions in hidden fees.”
The Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC), a coalition made up primarily of banks and credit unions, vowed to keep fighting for repeal of the Durbin amendment.
“The House Financial Services Committee voted twice in back-to-back congresses to repeal the Durbin Amendment because members know this is a crony handout that has generated unearned billions for the Big Box retailers and heartburn for their customers,” Molly Wilkinson, executive director of the EPC, said. “The Durbin price controls hurt consumers, community banks and credit unions and even small merchants.”