Cash or Credit: Two NACS Priorities Make Progress

Two NACS policy issues recently gained traction in Congress as the Credit Card Competition Act added new cosponsors, and retailer’s ability to round up or down to the nearest nickel became closer to becoming law.

Credit Card Competition Act

The Senate version of the Credit Card Competition Act (S. 3623), which would bring long-overdue competition to the credit card marketplace by creating a choice for the processing of credit card purchases, added three new cosponsors: U.S. Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) and Angus King (I-ME). 

The senators join lead sponsor Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and cosponsors Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Peter Welch (D-VT). Moreno and Lummis serve on the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the legislation.

The addition of the senators to the bill comes just days after President Donald Trump again endorsed the CCCA, after first endorsing it in January. 

“Thank you to Senators Moreno, Lummis and King,” said NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor. “Each of these senators deserves credit for standing up to Wall Street megabanks and global card networks. Main Street businesses and their everyday customers will benefit. Swipe fees have been driving up the price of just about everything for far too long and we appreciate these senators striking a blow to stop it.”
 
U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) is the lead sponsor of the House version of the Credit Card Competition Act (H.R. 7035); cosponsors include Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Thomas Tiffany (R-WI), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Derek Tran (D-CA), Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) and James McGovern (D-MA).

NACS urges everyone in the industry to contact their Members of Congress to urge them to take action on this legislation. That can be done here. With support growing, now is the time to take advantage of that momentum in a push to pass it. 

NACS also is working with retailers across the country to install iSee Tap devices in stores to raise awareness about issues critical to the industry, while giving customers an easy way to take action. These devices use signage and tap-to-connect technology to direct customers to a webpage where they can learn more about key policy issues, and if they choose, reach out to their legislators.

Penny Legislation

Also, late last week the Senate cleared its version of the Common Cents Act (S.1525) to provide legal protection to businesses rounding transactions if they do not have enough pennies. The bill passed by unanimous consent. The Common Cents Act would establish a federal framework allowing businesses to round cash transaction totals to the nearest 5 cents. The House passed its version of the bill (H.R.3074) on July 14 and is now expected to pass the Senate version in order for the legislation to become law. 

Without federal legislation, rounding could put retailers out of compliance with certain laws and brings the threat of potential class action lawsuits from plaintiffs’ attorneys looking to take advantage of the situation. Some retailers have been rounding only in the customer’s favor, which can lead to unplanned cost to the business and violate some laws. 

Swipe Fees