Electronic Payments Coalition Comments on Interchange Legislation

The electronic payments system is a premiere American example of the endless economic opportunities the free market brings to all parties involved. Developed in this country in a highly competitive marketplace, the electronic payments system has revolutionized consumer purchasing power, generated more than $2.5 trillion in sales last year for U.S. merchants alone, and today processes more than 10,000 transactions per second around the globe. Innovation, technology, and economic growth for all parties involved are hallmarks of a highly efficient free market system. However well-intentioned, any government intervention could never match the ability of the free market to determine the most appropriate price for services.

The Electronic Payments Coalition strongly opposes the price control legislation that was introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT). This legislation would establish a government rate-setting board that would impose price controls on the electronic payments system -- despite these groups' years of denials that price controls were their ultimate goal.

This bill clearly states that the board will "set rates and terms" for access to the benefits of accepting electronic payments. This provision replaces the free marketplace with a price control scheme governed by three unelected "electronic payment judges" -- under control of the federal government.

Let's be clear -- consumers will see no economic benefit from such price control legislation. This legislation is a thinly-veiled attempt by members of the Merchants Payments Coalition to lessen their own costs of doing business. In other countries where government intervened, consumers saw no benefit in terms of lower prices at the cash register, and in fact saw dramatic reduction in the rewards and benefits provided by their cards. We understand that every business wants to find ways to cut overhead costs for valued services. But government intervention in a system that is clearly working well for all parties in the marketplace would be counterproductive and ultimately harmful for all involved.

About Electronic Payments Coalition

The Electronic Payments Coalition is dedicated to protecting consumer value, choice, and competition in electronic payments systems. The coalition is a broad-based group of payment card networks, financial services companies, and financial services trade associations whose primary goal is to educate policy-makers, consumers, and the media about the value of electronic payments systems -- including economic growth, convenience, speed, reliability, and security -- and to ensure the continued growth of global commerce by promoting consumer choice and the stability of the vast payment networks that connect millions of consumers with millions of retailers each and every day.