Should Congress Swipe Left on the Credit Card Competition Act?
Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) recently introduced the Credit Card Competition Act, which would effectively enable merchants to route credit card transactions over a network other than the main one affiliated with the card. The sponsors say that this will increase “competition” and reduce costs for merchants, who will pass on the savings to consumers.
But are Durbin and Marshall being overly optimistic? Have they perhaps missed some predictable but unintended consequences that might cause their act to harm rather than help consumers?
The International Center for Law & Economics hosted an Oct. 25, 2022, webinar panel to offer a timely discussion of the proposed legislation, moderated by ICLE Director of Innovation Policy Kristian Stout and featuring Senior Scholar Julian Morris and Academic Affiliate Todd Zywicki.