We must credit policy makers for their clever names for congressional bills and legislative acts.
Consider the “Credit Card Competition Act.” It sounds like a positive idea; however, there are unintended (or perhaps intended) consequences. This is a “Trojan horse” bill, putting big retailers ahead of hard-working Americans with no regard to consumers or security, leaving us more exposed for fraud.
Many Dakotans are financially worried. With increasing inflation, rising interest rates, and soaring costs of living, people are struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile, credit unions are helping their members navigate through these times of uncertainty, and the credit card system is a crucial part of this. It’s a system that has worked for years; a system that consumers want, and merchants need.
Credit unions and other card issuers provide fraud protection, card replacement, and cover losses from security breaches with the interchange fee that is added on each swipe. Generally, this is a few cents per transaction; businesses already know this and have priced their merchandise to cover these costs. At most point of sales, consumers choose payment options while merchants get funds authorized, cleared and settled immediately.
The Credit Card Competition Act puts all that in jeopardy. This anti-consumer piece of legislation allows merchants to choose which card network to process a transaction, which means the best rate (not the most secure) wins. It leaves consumers…
