Electronic Payments Coalition Issues Statement on Interchange Fee Settlement
WASHINGTON--()--Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York announced that a settlement was reached in the long-running legal dispute between retailers, payment networks and nine major card issuers over interchange fees and rules.
“All parties have endorsed this agreement. The legal process worked and should send a signal to Congress that it is wrong to pick winners and losers in a complex dispute between two industries.”
The Electronic Payments Coalition issued the following statement:
“The long political conflict over interchange fees is finally over, settled by a well-established legal process, which brought together retailers and the card industry for a negotiated resolution. After years of mediation, dozens of meetings, and millions of pages of evidence, the parties involved have willingly agreed to settle their dispute.
“As part of the settlement, retailers negotiated the ability to charge their customers a checkout fee (merchant surcharge) at the register. Historically, banning surcharging has been an important safeguard, and it remains illegal in ten states. To the extent that retailers do assess checkout fees, we are pleased that the settlement includes important safeguards that will help to curb any abusive or excess checkout fees at the register.
“The deliberate and measured approach of the settlement process is in stark contrast to that of the Durbin amendment, which was passed in the dark of night with no review of its consequences and virtually no public debate. These government price controls shifted $8 billion from banks to the retailers, with no evidence that consumers are seeing lower prices as a result.
“All parties have endorsed this agreement. The legal process worked and should send a signal to Congress that it is wrong to pick winners and losers in a complex dispute between two industries.”
More information is available at http://www.electronicpaymentscoalition.org/settlement.
About the Electronic Payments Coalition
The Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) includes credit unions, banks, and payment card networks that move electronic payments quickly and securely between millions of merchants and millions of consumers across the globe. EPC’s goal is to protect the value, innovation, convenience and competition in today’s growing electronic payments system. EPC educates policymakers, consumers and the media on the system’s role in economic growth, and the importance of protecting consumer choice and stability for the continued growth of global commerce.
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