Today America Banker published an op-ed (subscription required) by Jim Nussle, CUNA’s president/CEO, and leaders from the Independent Community Bankers Association (ICBA) and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions. This op-ed addresses the impact of the so-called Durbin Amendment, which imposed price controls on debit interchange.   

In an earlier American Banker op-ed the National Association of Convenience Stores argued that the Durbin Amendment has not impacted credit unions and community banks with less than $10 billion in assets.  As we know, all credit unions that issue debit cards have indeed felt the impact of the Durbin Amendment along with many other onerous requirements of Dodd-Frank.  Furthermore as today’s op-ed points out, the Durbin Amendment has been a boon to the retailers, giving them an estimated $32 billion windfall on the backs of debit issuers with none of this being passed onto consumers. Our recently released regulatory burden study estimates that price controls on debit interchange have reduced credit union revenue by $1.1 billion. 

Our Advocacy team will continue to monitor and respond to inaccurate statements by merchants on the impact of price controls.  Furthermore, will continue to educate lawmakers on the true impact of the Durbin Amendment.