On January 13, Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) reintroduced the Credit Card Competition Act in the U.S. Senate, seeking to amend the EFTA to promote network competition in credit card transactions. The announcement stated that the legislation aims to address dominance by major issuers in the credit card market, reduce merchant swipe fees, and pass savings on to consumers.

The bill would require the Fed to issue regulations preventing large card issuers (i.e., those with assets over $100 billion) and payment card networks from limiting credit card processing to one network or to affiliated networks, with exceptions for certain three-party payment systems. It would also bar contractual, technical, or operational practices that inhibit merchants from selecting among eligible networks, including penalties for alternative routing or the use of proprietary technologies that effectively lock transactions to one network. The legislation would direct the Fed to establish and maintain a public list of payment card networks that pose national security risks or are affiliated with foreign state entities.