NLBMDA says swipe fee reform is gaining ground after three senators signed on to the Credit Card Competition Act.
The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA) said the Credit Card Competition Act (S. 3623) picked up steam last week when three senators joined the swipe fee reform bill as cosponsors.
Republican Sens. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Bernie Moreno of Ohio signed on along with independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, adding bipartisan backing. The bill would require large banks that issue credit cards to give merchants a choice between competing payment networks when processing transactions.
NLBMDA noted the additions stand out because Lummis and Moreno sit on the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees the bill.
The association has made swipe fee reform a sustained advocacy priority throughout the 119th Congress. It has repeatedly urged lawmakers to support more competition in credit card processing and to provide relief for dealers and other Main Street businesses from climbing transaction costs.
The new support came after President Trump renewed his endorsement of the bill that same week, the second time this year he has publicly backed it.
When lawmakers return to Washington after the August recess, NLBMDA plans to keep working with coalition partners and congressional offices to build support and find chances to advance swipe fee reform before the end of the year.