As any small business owner knows, the customer experience is just as important as the quality of products or services we offer. For my wellness and beauty business, AN Skin & Beauty in O’Fallon, my customers expect and depend on being able to shop our products in my store and online with ease and peace-of-mind.

Melanated communities in Colorado and across the country have historically and perpetually faced systemic barriers to credit and banking access. Melanated communities are already chronically underbanked, including 27% of Black families and 18% of Hispanic families. And, too often for those who are “banked,” the understanding of how to use these accounts for their benefit while keeping money in interest-bearing accounts and investments is not the norm.

As a small business owner, I work every day to keep my business up and running — and thriving. I own DA SPOT, a unique retail space featuring more than 100 creative brands by people of color.

The Credit Card Competition Act, imposing routing mandates on credit cards, would shift billions in consumer spending to less secure processing firms that would weaken the nation’s payment system. It will likely lead to even more private consumer information being made available to foreign networks (e.g.; China and Russia).

With their convenience and flexibility, credit cards have become an essential part of modern financial transactions and are often a consumer’s first entry into the broader financial services world. Unfortunately, recent policy proposals are threatening to disrupt this ecosystem, and the cumulative impact of these changes could have serious consequences for bank customers.

Economic development has always been near and dear to my heart. Helping our economy grow strong is one of the reasons I ran for the West Virginia House of Delegates, and it is something that I take very seriously.

Sometimes expanding our economy means that I must support state bills and sometimes it means that I must oppose others that I think will hurt expansion and growth. And sometimes it means that I must either support or oppose federal legislation.

CUNA Deputy Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak appeared on the Live Richer podcast recently to discuss the many negative effects that come with the Credit Card Competition Act. CUNA, Leagues, and credit unions prevented the from moving forward in the previous Congress, despite efforts to include it in must-pass end-of-year legislation.

The absolute last place you want to see someone practicing sleight of hand is when they have your credit card.

Alas that’s exactly what a bipartisan group wants to do with millions of Americans’ credit card benefits, hoping to distract us with some nice-sounding words about reform and affordability, all so they can service mega-retailers.

That is why I am concerned about proposed legislation in Congress called the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) – a bill which despite its name would disproportionately benefit larger retailers while jeopardizing the many benefits small businesses owners enjoy from their use and acceptance of credit cards.

President Reagan famously said that the most terrifying words in the English language are, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” Likewise, when Congress threatens to “inject more competition in an industry,” skepticism should be our first response.

With the holiday shopping season upon us, it’s important to recognize the locally owned, small businesses that are the backbone of our economy. My cycling studio, Harlem Cycle, thrives on the energy and enthusiasm of our diverse clientele in the heart of Harlem. As a business rooted in the community, we cherish the trust our clients have for us and we take pride in representing everything that makes Harlem unique.

The phrase “revolving credit line” usually conjures up images of balding bankers, meticulously reviewing detailed loan applications, while bright-eyed prospective borrowers wait on the edge of their seats. Today,
revolving credit lines for consumers take the form of colorful plastic cards that fit neatly in your wallet, and provide access to rewards, concert tickets, and much more. These colorful plastic cards—credit cards — are merely the end of an intricate network that combines consumer loans, account reconciliation, purchase protection, and security that is available to you, worldwide, on a 24-7 basis.

Survey commissioned by Electronic Payments Coalition and conducted by Morning Consult shows more than 4 in 5 Americans with credit cards have rewards programs, including 75% of households with incomes less than $50,000.

Small businesses claim they have legitimate concerns that their larger counterparts will be the beneficiaries of lower card acceptance costs should the Credit Card Competition Act become law, argues the Small Business Payments Alliance, a trade organization recently formed by the Electronic Payments Coalition.

I’m the co-owner of Happy Howie’s, a manufacturer of dog treats in Detroit that has been in operation for 12 years. I assure you that running a small business is not easy and rather than helping, the Act will hurt small businesses by taking away credit card rewards, something most owners rely on.

A new piece of legislation regarding credit cards has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. The proposed Credit Card Competition Act of 2023 (CCCA) targets credit card interchange income that issuers receive to offset costs and provide benefits in offering credit cards to their customers.

The Credit Card Competition Act will increase costs on small businesses and consumers, reduce investment in payment security, and empower regulators such as the Federal Reserve.

Last month, backers of the Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA) indicated that they anticipate a vote before the end of the year. This seems even more likely following Senator Dick Durbin’s most recent statement, urging that his bill be brought forward for a vote, ultimately to fight against what he calls the Visa-Mastercard “duopoly.”

Changes are coming to airline and credit card rewards programs, but the quest for higher status is still worth it.

Most small businesses begin as an idea and a dream. Through risk-taking, creativity and sweat those dreams become the economic lifeblood of local communities across America. This activity has provided a pathway for millions to achieve prosperity and financial security.

As a proud Arizonan and Latina small business owner, I advocate against any policies that threaten economic empowerment for our communities. I can say wholeheartedly that the Credit Card Competition Act will hurt us more than it will help us.

Supporters of the Credit Card Competition Act say it will lower how much you pay at the store. Critics of the bill say that’s not a guarantee, and that history shows credit card rewards are likely to suffer.

The Credit Card Competition Act of 2023—nicknamed “Durbin 2.0” after its co-sponsor, Sen. Dick Durbin, who enacted debit card regulations following the passage of the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010—would require every credit card transaction to have two networks—one of them not Visa or Mastercard—enabled to route transactions.

One of the lessons my dad taught me early in life was the “law of unintended consequences,” which is that the actions of people — and especially of government — always have effects that are unanticipated or unintended.

Democratic lawmakers like Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division want to impose new rules for credit-card transactions that would reduce competition, harm consumers and crush small banks.

These days as technology gets more advanced, it seems like consumers are under constant attack from hackers and online scammers. Now more than ever, consumer safety and protection are of the utmost importance, which is why I need to sound the alarm on a bill that could compromise our safety.

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That seems to be the prevailing sentiment Wednesday (June 7) when it was announced that the Credit Card Competition Act legislation is being reintroduced on Capitol Hill.

When you think of credit card networks, Visa and Mastercard are probably the first — and maybe the only — brand names that come to mind. The Credit Card Competition Act of 2022 aims to change that.

Last fall, the House Financial Services Committee passed a Financial CHOICE Act that repealed harmful Dodd-Frank Act price controls. That provision would have benefited consumers and small businesses and strengthened small banks and credit unions.