The credit card bill from Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., would require financial institutions to accept any kind of transaction and eschew carefully placed safeguards protecting from fraud, Cornerstone League President/CEO Caroline Willard wrote this week in CUInsight. CUNA, Leagues, and credit unions strongly oppose the bill, and have launched an action alert to share messages of opposition with lawmakers.

“Re-engineering the entire payments system just to benefit a small group of the largest retailers is against the credit union philosophy in that it impedes consumers’ access to safe, affordable credit,” she wrote. “As the nation heads into a possible recession, reliable access to safe, affordable credit is not only critical, but a driver of the U.S. economy. This legislation is unnecessary, unwarranted, and will cause smaller financial institutions and their members to suffer.

“As American consumers and small businesses are recovering from the economic impact of the pandemic, eliminating financial institutions’ freedom of choices and risking consumers’ security is pouring salt on our wounded economy,” she adds.

Willard also rebuts numerous arguments from retailers and other supporters of the bill, noting that it’s changes will cause massive disruptions to the current system that is working for all parties involved.