Durbin Discusses Credit Card Competition Act With National Restaurant Association

Durbin Discusses Credit Card Competition Act With National Restaurant Association

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Illinois members of the National Restaurant Association to discuss the impact of credit card swipe fees, one of the highest operating costs for restaurants. Earlier this year, Durbin reintroduced his bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act, which President Trump publicly endorsed in January. The legislation would require the largest banks in the country to offer two networks to be used to process credit card transactions with one being a network outside of the Visa-Mastercard duopoly. This competition and choice between networks would incentivize better service and lower credit card swipe fees for businesses and consumers.

During the meeting, Durbin also spoke about his support for comprehensive immigration reform as nearly a quarter of the restaurant workforce and 36 percent of restaurant owners in the U.S. are immigrants.

"Restaurants are the lifeblood of our communities, but they face serious challenges with the steep cost of credit card swipe fees. It's time that we bring real competition to the credit card industry, which has been dominated by the Visa-Mastercard duopoly and which has swamped consumers and restaurants with excessive swipe fees," said Durbin. "Today, I spoke with the National Restaurant Association about how my bipartisan Credit Card Competition Act would lower costs for businesses and consumers."

Photos of the meeting are available here.

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