Banking and Finance Law Daily Wrap Up, CREDIT, DEBIT AND GIFT CARDS—Banking groups oppose addition of credit card competition bill to crypto legislation, (Jan 27, 2026)

By Steven Melendez

The banking industry has long opposed the proposed Credit Card Competition Act, which they say will harm rewards programs and fraud prevention efforts.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) and 52 state bankers associations once again voiced their opposition to the proposed Credit Card Competition Act (CCCA), which they said in a statement would benefit big corporate stores rather than consumers or smaller merchants (see Banking and Finance Law Daily, Jan. 26, 2026).

“This legislation would limit credit access and upend credit card rewards programs, which are funded through interchange fees, with the worst effects being felt by minority and lower-income consumers,” the groups said in a joint letter to members of Congress.

The CCCA would require large credit card-issuing banks to enable the use of at least two unaffiliated payment networks with their cards. That, proponents argue, would give retailers more routing options and reduce the fees they pay for credit card processing, ultimately cutting costs for consumers. Senators Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced a version of the bill on Jan. 13, 2026, after a previous iteration introduced in 2023 failed to pass Congress, and it was quickly opposed by the banking industry.

The ABA Banking Journal reports that Marshall has proposed an amendment that would add the bill to an unrelated cryptocurrency-regulation bill. Marshall proposed the latest version of the bill as an amendment to the Digital Commodity Intermediaries Act, which would provide a regulatory framework for certain digital assets under the auspices of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. A new provision would also give state attorneys general the ability to bring civil lawsuits for violations of the proposed law, according to the ABA Banking Journal.

The ABA and other banking groups reiterated their concerns about the bill’s effects on banks, consumers, and the economy. Rather than boost competition among card networks, they argue, the proposed law would cut competition for consumer business among credit card companies. And the vast majority of savings, they say, would go to big corporate retailers rather than small businesses.

“It is abundantly clear that the CCCA benefits corporate megastores over consumers, small businesses, and community banks,” according to the groups.

Even though the legal mandate would only apply to issuers with at least $100 million in assets, the banking groups argue that market distortions created by the bill would also harm smaller community banks by decreasing funds available for lending. The mandate would also harm the economy by cutting away at rewards programs, according to the groups.

“Recent economic analysis from Oxford Economics Research, an independent advisory firm, found that the CCCA could cost the U.S. economy $228 billion and 156,000 jobs by eliminating rewards programs supporting travel and tourism nationwide,” according to the banking groups.

The groups also warned that the changes could make credit card networks more susceptible to fraud, which would potentially harm small businesses. That added fraud would come from disrupting the system of fees that banks use to invest in security measures, according to the banking groups.

Companies: American Bankers Association

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