Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) has filed an amendment to add credit card network routing mandates to an unrelated bill establishing a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.
The Credit Card Competition Act authored by Marshall and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has been introduced in previous sessions of Congress but failed to generate enough support to pass as a standalone bill. The amendment filed by Marshall today would instead insert the text of the legislation into the GENIUS Act — a stablecoin bill that is a top priority for congressional Republicans. The Senate this week invoked cloture on the GENIUS Act but Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will reportedly allow senators to offer amendments to the bill.
At least one Republican senator warned against adopting the amendment. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said that if the CCCA is attached to the GENIUS Act, “I would withdraw my support on the Senate floor,” according to the Washington Reporter.
The American Bankers Association opposes any effort to attach the CCCA to the stablecoin bill. In a statement, ABA President and CEO Rob Nichols said that if the Senate is seeking to embrace financial innovation through the GENIUS Act, “then the last thing senators should do is add a government credit card routing mandate to the bill that would rob consumers of their card rewards and leave them at greater risk of fraud. Supporters of the Senate stablecoin bill, including the crypto community, should join with America’s banks and protect consumers by opposing any effort to add the Durbin-Marshall poison pill to the GENIUS Act.”
