Rather than pass debit interchange savings from the Durbin Amendment on to consumers, gasoline retailers arepocketing the difference, according to the Electronic Payments Coalition.

Named for its chief Senate sponsor, Illinois Democratic Sen.Richard Durbin, the amendment capped the amount of money debit-cardissuing banks could make from each debit transaction.

At the time the amendment was debated, supporters asserted thesavings retailers saw from debit transactions could be passed on toconsumers, but the EPC says its research demonstrates that gasolineretailers have not been doing that.

Drawing on numbers from the American Automobile Association, theFederal Reserve, the U.S. Energy Information Administration andothers, the EPC estimated that gasoline retailers have kept roughly$1 billion in Durbin savings instead of passing it back to gasolineconsumers.

“Whenever Congress meddles in an industry debate over who payswhat, consumers never win,” says Trish Wexler, spokeswoman for theEPC. “One side gets a leg up and keeps their windfall, whileconsumers end up footing the bill.

“No one is surprised to see that gas retailers are keepingbillions of dollars for themselves, while their customers continueto be punished at the pump,” Wexler said. “Americans should go totheir gas stations and demand what's theirs – a discount fordebit.”