WASHINGTON -- NACS officials are publicly opposing parts of a financial-reform package—set to debut in the U.S. House of Representatives—that may affect current laws overseeing debit-card interchange fees.
Earlier this week, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, revealed a plan to overhaul significant parts of the Dodd-Frank financial regulations, the New York Times reported. Hensarling is expected to formally introduce his Wall Street reform package in the coming weeks.
The move is part of ongoing efforts by House Republicans to repeal significant portions of the Dodd-Frank Act signed into law in 2010, NACS officials said.
“Simply put, Dodd-Frank has failed,” Hensarling recently said during remarks at the Economic Club of New York. “It’s time for a new legislative paradigm in banking and capital markets.”
Included in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is the Durbin Amendment, which brought increased competition and transparency to the debit-card market, according to officials with Alexandria, Va.-based NACS. Since being introduced, these reforms have saved consumers nearly $6 billion per year and supported more than 37,000 jobs a year benefitting the economy as a whole, NACS said in a press release.
In that statement and in response to Hensarling’s comments, a NACS spokesperson said, “Without the vital protections in debit reform, higher debit-card fees would not only add to prices for consumers but also represent a tremendous additional burden to smaller merchants—especially convenience-store owners, whose customers often engage in multiple transactions at the gas pump and within the store. Card fees are the second-largest operating cost for many retailers, preventing them from expanding or hiring.”
Back in May, more than 140 national and state retail-trade associations—including NACS and many of the state associations representing the industry—signed a letter asking Hensarling to protect debit swipe-fee reforms.
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