Financial industry groups urge Congress not to intervene in credit card market

ICLE’s work on the Credit-Card Competition Act was cited in this Financial Regulation News story. Click here to read the full article.

The associations said that government intervention in the credit card market would disadvantage small businesses, citing a 2024 paper by a University of Miami finance professor who said small businesses would be put at a competitive disadvantage to large corporate megastores if the Credit Card Competition Act is passed.

The groups also noted that consumers would lose access to rewards programs and the reduction in rewards and cash back opportunities would significantly harm minority and lower-income consumers.

“The International Center for Law and Economics found that ‘77% of cardholders with a household income of less than $50,000’ have an active rewards card. The Durbin-Marshall bill would take away rewards options from lower-income Americans who value those rewards benefits, not just wealthy individuals,” the associations wrote.