Retail associations are celebrating what they are calling a year since their legislative victory in the battle over the Durbin Amendment by asserting that none of amendment opponents' dire predictions have come true.
The Merchant Payments Coalition, an association of retail trade associations formed to force lower debit interchange, pegged the year countdown to the defeat of the Tester Amendment, the last major push to delay the implementation of Durbin Amendment's interchange cap.
“This week, one year after the defeat of the Tester Amendment, the facts are in and the outcome is clear; despite a flawed Federal Reserve rule, the reforms are working,” the coalition declared in a statement. “[C]onsumers and merchants are feeling relief from Visa and MasterCard’s price fixing and community banks and credit unions across America are thriving.”
The coalition contended that retail profit margins have fallen since the amendment rule was implemented, indicating that retailers have been passing on the savings from the lower interchange fees to consumers.
It also suggested that lower interchange payments have given retailers more financial freedom to experiment with their own rewards and incentives to save consumers money for debit card use.
The coalition also quoted news stories from around the country indicating that community banks and credit unions, whose debit interchange was not capped under the Amendment, have benefited from it.
