A credit union executive will tell a House Small Business Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that the new federal interchange rules will mean his CU will have to start charging members for using debit cards.
Ron Celaschi is the Vice President of Lending for the $630 million Clearview Federal Credit Union, located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Celashi will testify on behalf of his own credit union and not for an association.
"Clearview Federal Credit Union has an older membership, and older members tend to use their cards less frequently than do younger members," Celashi wrote in prepared testimony.
"In a recent survey of credit unions conducted by the Credit Union National Association, credit unions reported the average number of debit transactions per member per year was 160. At Clearview Federal, it was 69. Even though my members use their debit cards with less frequency than members of other credit unions, we still incur all the costs of providing that access. We run our debit program at a loss because our members value the program; however, any reduction in interchange will require us to impose fees on members to make up the lost revenue. This will harm to our members and it will be a direct result of the recently enacted Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act," he said.
