CUNA CEO Dan Mica praised today's General Accounting Office report on credit card interchange for recognizing how important card interchange is for card issuing credit unions.

"The report rightly pinpoints the fact that [card] interchange is a significant source of revenue for smaller issuers such as credit unions. In many cases, this revenue allows credit unions to offer credit card programs to their consumer/members, which are competitive with card programs offered by much larger institutions," Mica said in a statement reacting to the GAO report release.

"In fact, those credit union programs have proven to be less expensive for our members than those offered by larger issuers. In the report, GAO recognizes that having small issuers in the market benefits consumers by forcing competition. Limiting or reducing Interchange would likewise limit competition-and our members would pay the price. The GAO report further underscores why Congress must protect the interests of consumers and oppose harmful interchange legislation."