Interchange, overdraft hearings scheduled this week

The Senate is in Washington, D.C. this week, and CUNA will be engaged with several committee hearings, including ones covering interchange and overdraft practices. The Senate is also expected to consider presidential nominees.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will conduct a hearing, “Excessive Swipe Fees and Barriers to Competition in the Credit and Debit Card Systems,” Wednesday, starting at 10 a.m. ET.

CUNA issued an action alert Friday calling on credit unions to share their experiences of members using payment cards and opposing any changes to interchange fees. More than 1,500 comments have been submitted as of Monday morning.

CUNA also submitted a letter to the committee Monday strongly opposing any expansion of the Durbin Amendment, which caps debit card interchange fees.

The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Development Committee will host a hearing titled “Examining Overdraft Fees and Their Effects on Working Families” Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.

CUNA engaged Congress in recent weeks on credit union overdraft policies, and a credit union president/CEO testified on his overdraft practices before a House Financial Services subcommittee in March.