The Credit Card Competition Act may face a vote on the floor of Congress next week, after Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) filed an amendment attaching it to the stablecoin bill currently advancing through the Senate.
The GENIUS Act would create the first regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers. The bill is still undergoing amendments ahead of the expected vote.
The credit card amendment is likely to be one of many considered before a final decision. Republican leaders, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), told Semafor it was not yet clear whether Marshall’s amendment would be one of the measures brought forward.
Opening Up the Competition
The Credit Card Competition Act, which has been kicking around the halls of Congress since 2022, “would require banks with at least $100 billion in assets to enable credit cards to be processed over at least one unaffiliated network like Star, NYCE or Shazam in addition to Visa or Mastercard,” reports Convenience Store News. Its stated aim is to open up the current situation, where Visa and Mastercard control 80% of all payments, ultimately reducing costs for consumers.
If enacted, the legislation is expected to foster competition that could save merchants and their customers more than $16 billion a year in swipe fees, per Convenience Store News. However, critics argue that it may also have the unintended consequence of reducing or eliminating credit card reward points.
The act has gained support from retail organizations like the Merchant Payments Coalition and the National Retail Federation, but faces significant opposition from financial institutions and the credit card industry.
Strange Bedfellows
Marshall and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) have been the Senate’s longtime bipartisan supporters of the credit card bill. Durbin, who is on record as opposing the stablecoin bill, said that appending his pet cause to the larger legislation “puts me on the spot.”
Adding the swipe fee bill would draw in Democratic senators like Durbin, who are unsure about the stablecoin legislation but support the credit card law. However, it also risks losing support from Republicans.
“It’s awful policy,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) told Semafor. “I’d go from being a co-sponsor to trying to figure out how to tank the [stablecoin] bill.
