Latest news with #CreditCardCompetitionAct
Politico
6 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Crypto's credit card dilemma
Presented by Editor's note: Morning Money is a free version of POLITICO Pro Financial Services morning newsletter, which is delivered to our subscribers each morning at 5:15 a.m. The POLITICO Pro platform combines the news you need with tools you can use to take action on the day's biggest stories. Act on the news with POLITICO Pro. Quick Fix A fierce lobbying war in Washington is threatening to jeopardize one of President Donald Trump's top financial policy priorities on Capitol Hill. After months of chaotic negotiations in the Senate, landmark cryptocurrency legislation that would create a regulatory framework for stablecoins finally appears to have the votes to clear the upper chamber, with a vote on final passage expected in the coming days. But now, a contentious battle over credit card swipe fees could blow the effort up. Senate Majority Leader John Thune's pledge to return the chamber to 'regular order' with open amendment processes has raised the possibility of a vote on divisive legislation that would crack down on credit card swipe fees. Supporters are eyeing the stablecoin bill as a vehicle to force an amendment vote on the so-called Credit Card Competition Act, which seeks to force payment networks to compete on swipe fees. The credit card measure, long championed by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), is such a fraught policy battle because it pits two powerful lobbying conglomerates — the financial sector and major retailers — against one another. Crypto supporters, who are within spitting distance of their biggest win ever in the Senate, are scrambling to prevent the credit card provision from derailing their stablecoin bill. It is highly unclear how a vote on the Durbin-Marshall provision would go: Most senators haven't taken a position on the matter (and they likely aren't eager to). But the fear for pro-crypto lawmakers is that it could garner enough support to be adopted as an amendment with backing from most Democrats and some Republicans — and then tank the underlying stablecoin bill by peeling off GOP senators who oppose the credit card amendment. 'It's a deal-killer,' said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who supports the stablecoin bill but said he will 'do everything [he] can to kill the bill' if the credit card legislation is attached. 'If it goes in it, the value out of the stablecoin components would not outweigh the damage done by CCCA.' The issue highlights the challenge Thune faces in delivering on his promise to hold open amendment processes. It is uncertain if the swipe fee crackdown will ultimately get a vote. The issue is likely to come to a head this week as GOP leaders look to move the bill toward final passage. Further procedural votes could come this week, but the timing of a vote on final passage will depend on whether they can get a deal on amendments. The credit card provision is the biggest outstanding question. Durbin and Marshall have been pushing for years to force a vote or attach it to must-pass legislation, and they have failed every time. Marshall has filed his bill as an amendment to the stablecoin legislation. But asked by MM prior to Congress' Memorial Day recess whether he will seek to force a vote on the measure, he said he has 'not decided what to do.' 'We have all our options open,' he said. Many lawmakers likely aren't eager to take a position on a matter that would alienate a powerful interest. Both Wall Street (which opposes the bill) and the retail and restaurant sectors (which support it) represent stakeholders in members' states and are major fundraising sources. 'I love them all,' said Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), who says he is undecided on the credit card legislation. 'I have some sympathy for that issue, but I also think it would kill the bill if it were passed,' he added. 'A lot of people that would be sympathetic to the cause would vote `No' for the sake of the larger bill. And because of that, I don't think the vote really helps do anything, including identify 'Yes' votes.' IT'S MONDAY — Send Capitol Hill tips to jgoodman@ And as always, send your tips, suggestions and personnel moves to Sam at ssutton@ Driving the Week MONDAY … Council of Economic Advisers Vice Chair Pierre Yared speaks at a Business Council for International Understanding roundtable at noon … Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell kicks off the board's International Finance Division 75th Anniversary Conference at 1 p.m. … TUESDAY … Senate Finance votes on Bill Long's nomination to serve as IRS commissioner at 9:30 a.m. The committee holds a nominations hearing on picks including Brian Morrissey Jr. to be general counsel at Treasury at 10:30 a.m. … The U.S. Chamber of Commerce kicks off its Capital Markets Summit at 9:35 a.m., with speakers including Acting Comptroller of the Currency Rodney Hood, NASDAQ President Nelson Griggs, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda, acting FDIC Chair Travis Hill, Sen. Mike Rounds, Rep. Bill Foster, House Financial Services Chair French Hill and Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender. The Brookings Institution holds a discussion on the earned income tax credit at 10 a.m. … The Council on Foreign Relations holds a discussion on the U.S. economic outlook and monetary policy at 1 p.m. … SEC Chair Paul Atkins testifies before Senate Appropriations at 2:30 p.m. … WEDNESDAY … Rep. David Schweikert speaks at The Hill's 'Invest in America Summit' at 9:05 a.m. … SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler testifies before House Small Business at 10 a.m. … House Financial Services holds a hearing on the future of digital assets at 10 a.m. … OMB Director Russell Vought testifies before House Appropriations at 2 p.m. … THURSDAY … The SEC's Investment Management Division hosts a conference on 'Emerging Trends in Asset Management' with speakers including Commissioner Hester Peirce beginning at 9 a.m. … The SEC meets at 10 a.m. … House Small Business holds a hearing on 'How Private Equity Empowers Main Street' at 10 a.m. … House Financial Services holds a hearing on data privacy at 10 a.m. … Fed Governor Adriana Kugler speaks at the Economic Club of New York at noon.. The Urban Institute holds a virtual discussion on 'rent reporting as a pathway to credit building' at 12:30 p.m. … The Peterson Institute for International Economics holds a virtual discussion on industrial policy for Asia and the Pacific at 5 p.m. … FRIDAY … The Labor Department will release the May jobs report at 8:30 a.m. ICYMI: The Conversation kicked off with Dr. Oz In the premiere episode of The Conversation, Dasha Burns sat down with Dr. Mehmet Oz — now leading the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — for a candid talk on drug prices, potential Medicaid cuts and why he's getting early morning calls from President Donald Trump. Plus, POLITICO's Jonathan Martin dished on the Ohio governor's race (featuring Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel), and Kyle Cheney unpacked Trump's legal battle over 'Liberation Day' tariffs. Watch the full episode on YouTube. And don't miss a moment — subscribe now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to get new episodes when they drop. Trump regulators prep gift to Wall Street — The Trump administration is gearing up to ease rules imposed on megabanks in response to the 2008 financial crisis, our Michael Stratford reports: 'Trump-appointed regulators are nearing completion of a proposal that would relax rules on how much of a capital cushion the nation's largest banks must have to absorb potential losses and remain solvent during periods of economic stress. 'The plan — being developed jointly by the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation — could be released in the coming months, according to two people familiar with the discussions who were granted anonymity to discuss plans that aren't yet public.' RIP Stanley Fischer — Former Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, who helped steer the central bank from 2014 to 2017 and was an influential economist at MIT, the IMF and the Bank of Israel, died on Saturday at age 81. James R. Hagerty writes for the NYT that Fischer's 'scholarship and genial, consensus-seeking style helped guide global economic policies and defuse financial crises for decades.' trade Trump says he'll double steel tariff — Trump said on Friday that he is doubling his tariff on steel to 50 percent to prevent billions of dollars worth of foreign steel from continuing to enter the U.S., Doug Palmer reports. — Imports plummeted in April as companies adjusted to Trump's sweeping new tariff regime, in an early signal of how his global trade war is unfolding in the U.S. economy, Victoria Guida reported Friday. The goods trade deficit last month was nearly half its size in March, according to an advance estimate from the Commerce Department, driven by a nearly 20 percent drop in imports. On The Hill Trump budget — Trump sent the nitty-gritty of his budget proposal to Congress on Friday, fleshing out which programs he wants Republicans to cut deeply — or wipe out entirely — when they vote to fund the government in September, our Jennifer Scholtes writes. Expanding upon the so-called skinny budget the White House transmitted to Capitol Hill earlier this month, the new documents detail the White House's ambitions for spending cuts across government agencies. They show which accounts the president wants GOP lawmakers to target as Trump seeks non-defense funding cuts of more than 22 percent in the upcoming fiscal year and a flat military budget. —The SEC asked lawmakers for more than $2.1 billion for the upcoming fiscal year, though the agency cautions that it may not actually need that large of a budget, Declan Harty reports. Lawmakers to watch in the megabill fight — Our Jordain Carney has a look at the 'Medicaid moderates' — an ideologically diverse bunch of Republicans who are poised to have a major impact on the GOP tax-cut megabill. Jobs report Maggie Sklar, a longtime CFTC official who has also worked at the Fed and FDIC, recently joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as senior director of public policy and advocacy. — Declan Harty
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Durbin to keep pushing card bill
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 is retiring, but that doesn't mean he's done with credit card reform efforts. The Illinois Democrat announced last week that he wouldn't seek re-election next year and his four-decade congressional career will end in January 2027. Still, he plans to use some of his dwindling days in the Senate to continue a crusade for the Credit Card Competition Act. A spokesperson for his office confirmed that intent by email on Thursday. That's the piece of legislation that would force bank card issuers to ensure that credit card processing systems always make a network other than Visa and Mastercard available to retailers, restaurants and other merchants. It would be no small change, given that Visa and Mastercard handle about 87% of all transactions when consumers swipe their cards, according to industry research firm Nilson Report. (That's all cards, but they dominate the market for credit cards alone too.) The idea behind the legislation is that it would create an opening for more competitors to challenge the duopoly, ultimately cutting card processing costs. Durbin, 80, has pushed the bill in the past two congressional sessions, with backing from Kansas Republican Roger Marshall. But so far this year, the legislation hasn't resurfaced, despite Durbin's promises it will. Durbin is waiting for the right moment, says Doug Kantor, who serves as general counsel for the National Association of Convenience stores and who has been a major proponent of the proposal since it landed in 2022. Durbin's camp is keeping an eye out for a larger bill that would be a suitable vehicle for carrying the legislation across the finish line, Kantor said in an interview last week. The lack of movement this year has probably been a result of the chambers being preoccupied with other major issues like the budget, he said. The Merchants Payments Coalition, which includes the National Retail Federation and the National Restaurant Association, among others, has also encouraged the legislation. 'There is a broad and growing recognition that the credit card companies don't do business the right way, and this bill may be one piece of addressing that,' Kantor said. But things aren't so clear across the aisle. Marshall's office has steadfastly not responded to requests for comment on the reintroduction of the legislation in recent weeks, despite his very vocal support last year. On the House side, Arkansas Republican French Hill, who is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, doesn't see the bill going anywhere because Congress shouldn't be in the position of refereeing between retailers and banks, he said recently. 'This isn't the way to resolve it,' Hill said during an event hosted this month by the media outlet Punchbowl News. The lack of Republican interest may have something to do with other financial services priorities being floated by newly elected President Donald Trump, like his fascination with cryptocurrencies. That may be propelling a Republican congressional focus on pursuing stablecoin legislation. In addition, interest groups on the other side of the fight, in particular the Electronic Payments Coalition and Bank Policy Institute, have not let up this year in skewering the CCCA proposal with press releases, statements and event appearances. 'We're taking this extremely seriously,' EPC Executive Chairman Richard Hunt said at the Punchbowl News event, contending the bill is a favor for big box retailers that would undercut card rewards and security. Hunt lamented Durbin's success 15 years ago in passing his namesake amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which ushered in limitations for fees in processing debit card transactions. Congressional Republicans are still seeking to blunt the impact of that law. A pack of House Republicans, including Hill, last month wrote to the Federal Reserve to reverse course on a planned reduction of the debit fee cap prescribed by that law. For the long-time Democratic Senate whip, Republican control of both chambers and the White House has not only weakened Durbin's power, it has seemingly reset the agenda. Some congressional colleagues have moved on to new card industry legislation that aims to protect consumers from high credit card interest rates. Part of Durbin's decision to retire may have been influenced by younger peers eager to take on leadership. He may find he has to leave his card reform agenda for them, if they're interested. Recommended Reading Republicans pressure Fed on debit card fees
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Senate's biggest critic of card fees is retiring. Here's one Bankrate expert's take on his legacy
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, announced on April 23 that he will retire after his current term ends in January 2027. While he isn't what you might call the Senate 'finance guy' — he's the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, not the Banking Committee — Durbin has been impactful on a number of legislative financial actions over his decades of service. In particular, he helped reshape debit card processing fees in a major way with the Durbin Amendment back in 2010. More recently, he's been working to shake up the credit card interchange landscape as a sponsor of the Credit Card Competition Act. While he's positioned his efforts as pro-consumer, the results — or anticipated results — of his efforts haven't always handed consumers a win. The eponymous Durbin Amendment (part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act) greatly reduced the debit card processing fees that merchants pay banks every time a customer uses their card. The act was signed into law in 2010. Among other things, the amendment limited the debit interchange fee to a maximum of 0.05 percent of the transaction value plus 21 cents (with an extra cent for fraud protection). In practice, this brought the average debit card processing fee down 52 percent (from 50 cents to 24 cents), according to the International Center for Law and Economics. Merchants, as you might expect, rejoiced, but the net effect on consumers wasn't as positive as intended. Though their transaction costs had decreased thanks to the Durbin Amendment, most retailers did not pass those savings on to consumers. In fact, only 1 percent of retailers lowered prices, according to the Richmond Fed. And, in an additional blow to consumers, banks reacted to receiving lower interchange fees by scaling back debit card rewards programs, raising other fees (such as ATM and overdraft fees) and making it harder to get a free checking account, the Cato Institute reports. The Durbin Amendment was well intentioned, but market conditions backfired and prevented consumers from realizing the desired cost savings. Unfortunately, this often happens with fees. They can be like Whack-a-Mole — one goes down, another comes up. More recently, Durbin has set his sights on reducing credit card interchange fees. Merchants love to complain about these levies (the average is about 2.2 percent, according to The Nilson Report). The Merchants Payments Coalition says credit card processing fees are most merchants' highest cost aside from labor, totaling a record $187.2 billion in 2024. Durbin is the chief architect of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), a bill first introduced in 2023 that seeks to lower merchants' interchange fee burden, but differently than the Durbin Amendment did for debit cards. The Credit Card Competition Act seeks to reduce fees by promoting more competition in the payment processing market (that sounds friendly, but I worry about unintended consequences). It would mandate that credit card issuers with assets over $100 billion enable at least two networks for each transaction, and merchants could then choose which to use. Durbin has assailed Visa and Mastercard for allegedly engaging in a price-fixing duopoly. The CCCA includes the provision that Visa and Mastercard can't be the only available networks. A card issuer could perhaps offer Visa and American Express, for example. Or Mastercard and Discover. There also seems to be the hope that smaller networks could emerge and serve as lower-cost alternatives. It all sounds fine in theory, and it's not a hard cap like we saw with the Durbin Amendment's changes to debit card interchange fees, but the effect on consumers could be similar — reduced credit card rewards, less access to credit and higher fees in other areas. Credit card rewards lovers' reaction People who rely heavily on travel rewards cards to fund their adventures have been particularly vocal opponents of the legislation. They know that credit card companies make money through cardholder fees and interest charges, yes, but also through these transaction fees. In one way or another, cardholders pay for the credit card rewards programs. The fear is that any reduction in transaction fees could put extra card perks — rewards and other benefits — first on the chopping block. Proponents, including Durbin and others, argue that merchants will lower prices, but they didn't do so when debit interchange fees were capped, so it seems unlikely they will this time around. Still, seizing on a Populist wave that has swept across both major political parties, the Credit Card Competition Act has gained notable co-sponsors from both sides of the political aisle, showcasing Durbin's reputation as a bipartisan consensus builder. The bill hasn't come to a vote; it's twisting in the political winds. Durbin's looming retirement could kill its momentum, or it could ignite a late-game push to cement Durbin's legacy as an interchange-fee fighter. Similar to the push to cap debit interchange fees, Durbin and his co-sponsors are trying to advocate for consumers via the Credit Card Competition Act. But the financial industry won't take any threats to its revenue model lightly. Interchange fee reform seems much more likely to benefit retailers than consumers. There are no easy answers, but I believe the current system is better (in terms of rewards, access to credit and more). Durbin has become synonymous with interchange fees in the financial world, but his overall legacy is much wider-reaching. In a recent retrospective, the Associated Press detailed legislative accomplishments ranging from banning smoking on airplanes to criminal justice system reform, immigration reform and more. Honestly, banks will probably wish Durbin a happy retirement and hope he takes his interchange fee microscope with him. In the year following the implementation of the debit card interchange cap, the aforementioned Cato Institute report says banks lost out on between $5.1 billion and $7.4 billion in revenue. Unfortunately, most of that seemed to line retailers' pockets, rather than providing consumers with relief. Have a question about credit cards? E-mail me at and I'd be happy to help. Sign in to access your portfolio
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
Forbes
04-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Proposed Price Controls Continue To Be Met With Statehouse Rejection
Progressive Democrats like Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) champion a host of price controls, both existing and proposed. Though it's still not the case for most Republicans, a few GOP lawmakers in Washington have been warming up to price controls recently. In February of this year, for example, Senator Bernie Sanders coauthored legislation with Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. Representative Ocasio-Cortez and Representative Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) introduced the House version of that bill. Republican flirtation with price controls, however, is not catching on in state capitals. In fact, in recent weeks statehouse Republicans have continued to reject proposals seeking greater government interference in commerce and state meddling in private transactions, particularly when it comes to the application of credit card interchange fees. Interchange fees cover the cost of privacy protection and rewards points. Interchange fees are assessed as a percentage of credit or debit card transaction that is transferred to the customer's bank or credit union. Legislation that would empower state governments to dictate fee structures for electronic payment transactions (e.g., debit cards, credit cards, and prepaid cards) is a form of price control that has been introduced in more than 30 states over the past two decades. Critics of these bills contend their enactment would result in distortionary government-mandated price controls on consumer purchases. Such proposals are designed to prevent payment processors from assessing interchange fees on the full transaction, typically mandating that payment processors exclude sales tax before assessing interchange fees. While such legislation is now pending in Oklahoma, Kansas, Tennessee, Arizona, and Texas, all of those proposals are on track to be defeated. Proponents of these bills contend assessment of interchange fees with sales tax included is unfair. Yet allegations of unfairness don't change the fact that the sales tax is part of the transaction being facilitated by the payment processor and comes with associated costs. While legislation to restrict the application of interchange fees has been introduced in most states, only Illinois lawmakers have enacted such a bill. The senior U.S. Senator from that state, Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), is the author of the Credit Card Competition Act, which seeks to impose federal restrictions on interchange fees. A price control proposal that has, thus far, only been enacted in Democrat-dominated Illinois, is now up for consideration this week in one of the redder states, Texas. In addition to filing legislation mandating that payment processors deduct sales tax prior to assessing interchange fees (HB 4124/SB 2026), Texas lawmakers have also introduced related legislation (HB 4061/SB 2056) mandating disclosure of fee agreements between retailers and payment processors. The Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee held an April 3 hearing on that legislation, which is seen by critics as a step toward the imposition of new price controls. 'Analyses of similar federal proposals, such as the Credit Card Competition Act, consistently find that consumers will not benefit from future savings under mandates like those imposed by HB 4124/SB 2026 and HB 4061/SB 2056,' noted a joint letter sent to Texas lawmakers this week by a coalition of conservative organizations. 'A report from the Government Accountability Office,' for instance, concluded that '65% of non-interest checking accounts offered by covered banks would have been free' had similar regulations that already apply to debit cards never been imposed. In that joint letter, conservative groups warned Texas lawmakers that a court decision on the interchange fee restrictions enacted in Illinois means that state regulation of interchange fees must be extremely narrow in application in order to avoid violating the U.S. Constitution. The joint letter from free market organizations explains how 'a federal court partially granted an injunction to banks in an Illinois case which held that the state prohibition on interchange fees enacted there only applies to Illinois-chartered financial institutions, but not other banks.' 'While state-chartered institutions received no injunctive relief, larger banks managed to successfully argue against state regulation of all interchange fees,' the coalition letter added. What this means is that state lawmakers who decide to impose an Illinois-style prohibition or restriction on interchange fees, as HB 4124/SB 2026 seeks to do in Texas, will only affect local banks chartered within their borders while leaving larger, out-of-state financial institutions with a government-created advantage. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) recently pointed to that Illinois decision in a letter warning Maryland legislators about the consequences associated with state regulation of interchange fees. Brown wrote to the sponsor of House Bill 29, an interchange fee bill pending in Annapolis, explaining that the proposed restriction on interchange fees applies to any bank involved in card payments and that 'principles of federal preemption could limit the bill's application such that it would not (and could not) apply to federally chartered banks and other federal financial institutions.' Brown's letter went on to add that 'there is a real risk, in my view, that a court would find the provisions of House Bill 29 to be preempted by federal law.' Senator Durbin's effort to impose federal price controls on credit card interchange fees has thus far failed to gain traction on Capitol Hill. Meanwhile, as state lawmakers continue to reject legislation seeking to restrict interchange fees, Senator Durbin's own state, in remaining the only one to thus far impose state-level restrictions on interchange fees, is now seen by many as more of a cautionary tale than a model to emulate.
