The Electronic Payments Coalition

EPC educates policymakers, consumers & the media on the value, innovation, convenience, security & competition that exists in the electronic payments system.

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Today, we honor the courage and sacrifice of the brave individuals who have served our country. From all of us at EPC, thank you for your service. 🇺🇸

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Checkout prices have outpaced inflation while credit card interchange rates have stayed virtually flat.

Blaming credit cards lets corporate megastores shift blame and protect their profits.

Now those same retailers are pushing the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates.

https://t.co/PAViiFX1pG

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Corporate megastores have scored billions in extra profits while consumers lost rewards, small businesses saw costs rise, and families saw higher prices.

That isn't affordability. It's a corporate giveaway at the expense of working Americans.

Watch: https://t.co/mUsjCTaRCU

https://t.co/iasiVnZ9nH

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Exemptions on paper. Pressure in the marketplace. 💳

In @CU_Times, Michael Ogden writes that “an exemption written into federal law doesn’t necessarily translate into protection in the marketplace.”

Remember this the next time someone says small banks and credit unions would be exempt under the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates.

https://t.co/eqwcKlHIQg

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Today, EPC is launching a new campaign to expose a billion-dollar broken promise to American families. In 2010, corporate megastores promised debit card mandates would lower prices for consumers. They lied — and pocketed an estimated $235B in profits, or about $1800 per family.

https://t.co/iasiVnZ9nH

Watch: https://t.co/mUsjCTaRCU

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

“Consider a military spouse handling bills while a loved one is deployed. Consider a veteran managing expenses on a fixed income,” writes @DCUC_HQ’s @JasonStverak in @CUInsight. 💳

“We should strengthen the institutions serving these Americans, rather than make their services harder to sustain.”

https://t.co/HNE6v1llRj

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Corporate mega-stores are blaming credit cards for rising costs. 👎

Prices at corporate mega-stores have climbed faster than inflation, while credit card interchange rates have stayed virtually flat.

Before Congress considers the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates, ask who is really driving prices up.

https://t.co/PAViiFX1pG

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

@DCUC_HQ’s @JasonStverak in @CUInsight: “Servicemembers and veterans deserve better than being treated as an afterthought in a fight over merchant expenses.”

Military families shouldn’t bear the cost of corporate mega-store savings. 👎

The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates raise these exact concerns for consumers and the financial institutions that serve them.

https://t.co/HNE6v1llRj

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Don’t be fooled! Credit card mandates would pad the bottom lines of corporate mega-stores while leaving consumers in the dust. 💳

In @MensJournal, Siddarth Munjal writes that under the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates, “there’s no guarantee that savings will be passed through to consumers at checkout.”

What cardholders could lose instead: the cash back and travel points they rely on.

https://t.co/uCFfeLZSac

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Nearly 70% of low-and moderate-income cardholders use rewards like cash back, per EPC’s fact sheet.

The Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates could put those rewards at risk, along with the fraud protection and small business growth that come with card acceptance.

https://t.co/IRVsiZFUNw

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

“Every Halloween, families look for ways to stretch their budgets, and credit cards help on both sides of the counter,” says EPC’s @cajunbanker 🎃

“Shoppers get fraud protection and rewards. Store owners avoid the expense of counting, guarding, and hauling cash to the bank.”

On candy alone, accepting card payments instead of cash could save stores up to $131 million.

https://t.co/6MA9to5Mvg

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Corporate mega-stores are blaming the payment system for higher grocery prices. 👎

@BLS_gov data show grocery prices are up 31% since March 2020, while credit card interchange rates have stayed largely flat at about 1.8% for nearly a decade.

Before Congress considers the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates, remember that corporate mega-stores are looking out for their own bottom line, not consumers.

https://t.co/CdE1ZF7DF9

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

“The problem comes when legislating by polling data and sound bites is forced to confront the real-world implications of those policies.”

📢EPC’s @cajunbanker in @WSJOpinion on price controls. Even Americans with higher credit scores might keep their cards, but “would face constricted credit limits, reduced rewards and stricter underwriting.”

https://t.co/yaPQ2DBwPf

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Despite claims that small banks would be exempt, Wyoming small business owners from NS Bar Cattle Ranch, Rabou Farms, and Western Sky Dental say the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates “would impact all institutions and ultimately make it harder for small businesses to access affordable credit.” 💳
@SenJohnBarrasso @RepHageman

https://t.co/gcEkTnGLob

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

“Making credit artificially ‘cheaper’ essentially makes it realistically unavailable,” writes EPC’s @cajunbanker in @WSJopinion. 💳

A 10% credit card rate cap would leave consumers with credit scores below 740 especially vulnerable.

https://t.co/jQcdtKCQmm

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Think cash is cheaper for stores? Not this Halloween. 🎃

Grocery and warehouse stores spend 4.7% to 5.5% of each cash sale on processing vs. ~2.3% for credit cards, per @ihl_group. EPC estimates handling Halloween purchases in cash only could cost stores $635 million to $743 million.

https://t.co/6MA9to6kkO

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

“Price controls might make for a good stump speech, but they don’t make the underlying economics disappear.” 💳

EPC’s @cajunbanker in @WSJOpinion on why a 10% credit card rate cap could cut off credit for up to 190 million Americans:

https://t.co/kzYRPoH5oo

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

“The facts could not be more clear: the Durbin-Marshall credit card mandates would lead to devastating outcomes for small businesses in Wyoming and across the country.”

Pine Bluffs rancher Sharon Fain-Steenbergen, Albin farmer @RonRabou, and Cheyenne dentists Randy and Haley Davis are reviewing the facts and speaking out.

@RepHageman @SenJohnBarrasso @WTEnews

https://t.co/gcEkTnGLob

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Shoppers are expected to spend $4.1 billion on Halloween candy. 🍬

If consumers use cards instead of cash for these transactions, stores could save up to $131 million.

“Lower costs for merchants mean better prices on the shelf,” says EPC Executive Chairman @cajunbanker.

https://t.co/n1t0ubxPeD

[The Electronic Payments Coalition @EPC_Updates]

Steve Gunderson is urging Montana’s senators to oppose the Durbin-Marshall Credit Card Mandates.

“Main Street merchants lack the massive IT departments that mega-retailers employ to handle data breaches,” he writes. @SteveDaines @TimSheehyMT

https://t.co/P58VwjaIxZ