WASHINGTON — Three more U.S. senators have signed on as cosponsors of the Credit Card Competition Act, giving the legislation new bipartisan support even as credit unions and other financial institutions continue to strongly oppose the measure.
The newest sponsors include Sens. Bernie Moren (R-OH), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Angus King (I-ME), who signed on the Senate prepared to leave Washington Friday for its summer recess.
The three join original cosponsors Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS).; Dick Durbin (D-IL)., and Peter Welch (D-VT), bringing Senate sponsorship of the legislation to three Republicans, two Democrats and one independent.
Moreno and Lummis are the first members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the legislation, to become cosponsors, according to the Merchant Payments Coalition, which is strongly supportive of the legislation.
“Thank you to Senators Moreno, Lummis and King,” MPC Executive Committee member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said in a statement. “Each of these senators deserves credit for standing up to Wall Street megabanks and global card networks. Main Street businesses and their everyday customers will benefit. Swipe fees have been driving up the price of just about everything for far too long and we appreciate these senators striking a blow to stop it.”
The Credit Union Response
The legislation is strongly opposed by credit unions and other financial institutions, which have argued that despite the bill’s $100 billion asset threshold, it would have broader consequences for the payments system and could reduce interchange revenue used to support credit card rewards, fraud prevention, cybersecurity and other services. Credit union groups have also disputed claims that merchants would pass savings from lower interchange costs along to consumers.
In the House, sponsors include Reps. Lance Gooden (R-TX); Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).; Thomas Tiffany (R-WI).; Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ); Derek Tran (D-CA); Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ); Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA).; and James McGovern (D-MA).
Trump Endorses Legislation
As the CU Daily reported here, the additional Senate support comes days after President Trump again endorsed the legislation, his second endorsement this year. Trump said in a social media post that the measure is needed to stop what he called the “out of control Swipe Fee ripoff” and praised Marshall, the lead Senate sponsor, for “working tirelessly” to pass it.
Durbin also called for passage of the legislation during a Senate Judiciary Committee subcommittee hearing this week.
Vice President JD Vance was a cosponsor of the Credit Card Competition Act while serving in the Senate.
At the center of the debate are the interchange, or “swipe,” fees merchants pay when consumers use credit and debit cards.
MPC Cites ‘Record Swipe Fees’
MPC said credit and debit card swipe fees reached a record $198.25 billion in 2025. The merchant group contends the fees are the largest operating expense for many merchants after labor and drive up prices by more than $1,200 annually for the average family.
MPC argues the fees continue to rise because of a lack of competition in the card-processing market. According to the coalition, Visa and Mastercard control about 80% of the market, set the swipe-fee rates charged by banks issuing cards under their brands and restrict processing to their respective networks.
The Credit Card Competition Act would require banks with at least $100 billion in assets to enable their credit cards to be processed over at least one network unaffiliated with Visa or Mastercard, such as Star, NYCE or Shazam.
