| The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and the Credit Union Nation Association (CUNA) have written to Durbin to express their opposition to the proposed amendment. The associations argue that Durbin’s proposed reforms would reduce rates for small financial institutions, but Durbin says that 99 percent of all banks and credit unions are exempt from the proposed amendment.
In an open letter, Durbin wrote to the associations: “The idea that Visa and MasterCard will drive small banks away from offering debit cards by voluntarily and unilaterally reducing debit interchange rates for small financial institutions – even though such action would be contrary to their own economic interests and negatively affect a multi-billion dollar annual revenue stream – is absurd. Even corporate spite has some boundaries, and sacrificing revenues seems inconsistent with the profit-driven actions that Visa and MasterCard have taken to date.”
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