In Speech on Senate Floor, Durbin Calls Out CEOs of Visa, Mastercard, United & American Airlines for Balking at Invitation to Testify Before Judiciary Committee on Credit Card Competition

“Last month, I invited the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard, United Airlines, and American Airlines to testify before the Judiciary Committee, which I chair, about competition in the credit card market. I’ve been working for nearly 20 years to break the Visa-Mastercard duopoly in the debit and credit markets, which would reduce costs for small businesses and lower prices for consumers. For credit card transactions, interchange fees are much higher [than debit card transactions], in the range of two to three percent. That means if you go to a restaurant and pay $20 for your meal, 40 to 60 cents goes to the bank that issued the credit card that you used to pay for the meal. It may not sound like a lot, but it adds up. It is estimated that businesses paid more than $100 billion in swipe fees on Visa and Mastercard branded cards in 2023 alone. In fact, swipe fees can be small businesses’ second highest cost behind only the cost of labor.

Thankfully there is an answer and a solution to the problem. The Credit Card Competition Act, a bipartisan bill I introduced last year with Republican Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas, would inject much-needed competition into the credit card market and break the Visa-Mastercard strong hold. By forcing Visa and Mastercard to actually compete for merchants’ business, we’re aiming to end the cycle of increasing interchange fees that’s breaking the backs of small businesses. And as you can imagine, Visa, Mastercard, and their big bank partners don’t like our bill. The bill is expected to save merchants and consumers $15 billion every year in interchange fees. That’s $15 billion a year coming out of the pockets of Wall Street banks and into the pockets of American consumers. That’s why credit card companies and banks have poured more than $51 million into lobbying efforts to defeat my bill—$51 million. They have also enlisted airlines in their effort.

An article in the Atlantic recently explained why. Airlines are just banks now. They make more money from their mileage programs and credit cards than from flying airplanes. So, if you think of a major airline like United Airlines, it’s basically a credit card company that owns some planes. That’s why anyone who has traveled through the airport here in D.C., watched TV, or used the internet has probably seen ads claiming, ‘Dick Durbin wants to take away your credit card rewards.’ The problem is these breathless claims are false. Rewards programs will be alive and well long after the Credit Card Competition Act becomes law.

The Judiciary Committee last held a hearing on competition in the credit card market in May of 2022. Visa and Mastercard have increased their fees since that hearing and are planning to do so again next month. Even in the midst of concerns about inflation, they keep raising this fee over and over again… That’s why I invited the CEOs of Visa, Mastercard, United Airlines, and American Airlines to come testify before the Judiciary Committee on April 9. Guess what? All four CEOs rejected my invitation. They’re just too darned busy to come and explain the major source of profits for their businesses. They’re too darned busy to come and explain what they’re doing to consumers and families across America.

Killing the Credit Card Competition Act has been and remains a top priority for these companies, as evidenced by more than $51 million lobbying effort they’ve undertaken against my bill… If these CEOs are willing to discuss the Credit Card Competition Act with Wall Street investors and lawmakers behind closed doors, they should be willing to answer questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee and the American public under oath. If the credit card market really is working for small businesses and consumers, then I say to Ryan McInerney, Michael Miebach, Scott Kirby, and Robert Isom, you should have nothing to hide. The fact that you are refusing to appear and publicly defend your skimming of every credit card transaction in America speaks volumes.”

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