I bought my husband a t-shirt that says, “Friends don’t let friends drink white zinfandel.”

I think you should have “Friends don’t let friends have bank loans” t-shirts printed up with the Co-Op logo! I’ll buy one!

Cheers!
Denise Wymore
VP Association Services
CUANM

We need to STOP THE DURBIN INTERCHANGE AMENDMENT.

Congress is about to act on legislation that could have harmful consequences to you personally, all credit union members and all consumers in the U.S. If this law passes with the Durbin Interchange Amendment, free services like checking accounts, check cards and online bill pay could go away.

How did this happen? As part of the bill to reform risky practices in the banking industry, an unrelated amendment was added by the Senate (by Senator Durbin) in a late-night vote – with little debate and no hearing. If it becomes law, it will severely reduce the small fee (interchange) that merchants pay to card issuers like Navy Federal. This amendment was encouraged by lobbyists of the big merchants to pass their costs for taking debit and check cards on to the backs of consumers, like you and the members we serve.

Remember that credit unions like ours did not cause the financial crisis. Legislation to reform Wall Street should not end up harming not-for-profit credit unions like Navy Federal or you, the members we serve.

Now, the Senate and the House have to decide whether the Durbin Interchange Amendment should be part of the final financial reform bill. We need to tell them NO.

How Can You Help? It’s easy:

CALL your Representative and your Senators, and do it NOW. Discussion about the Durbin Interchange Amendment has already started.
You won’t actually speak to a Representative or Senator. You will either speak to a staff member, or you may get access to a voice mailbox. It’s best to call during working hours when you may speak to a staff member. In any case, no one will start a debate with you. The point is, let your voice be heard.

What should I tell them?

Tell them that you are a voter in their District (Representative) or State (Senator) and a member of Navy Federal Credit Union.
Tell them that you are opposed to the Durbin Interchange Amendment.
Thank them for passing on your opposition to the Durbin Interchange Amendment and letting your voice be heard.

If you’d like to make additional points:

Let them know that the Durbin Interchange Amendment threatens important services like free debit and check cards, free checking, and free bill pay – all services that Navy Federal members depend on.
Remind them that credit unions – especially credit unions like Navy Federal who serve the needs of the men and women who serve our country – didn’t cause the financial crisis and shouldn’t be harmed by legislation aimed at Wall Street and big banks.
Remind them that this amendment was rushed through, without proper discussion. The unintended, negative consequences for average American consumers were not considered.

Next Steps:

Finding the telephone numbers of your Representative and Senators is easy. Just type in your address and zip code at http://www.contactingthecongress.org.
Remember: It’s the number of callers that counts. Can you email? Not all Congressman count emails, so if you are unsure if yours does—don’t risk it, make the phone call.
CALL TODAY!

Thank You for Your Help and Support.

Several times during the conversation, we reminded this gentleman that interchange is an exchange of funds from the merchant to the issuer, but he kept circling back to a need for “transparency” to the consumer. He even went so far as to say that if this amendment passes, consumers would be able to shop for the cheapest card. Of course, we were quick to dispute that point, explaining that the consumer will definitely NOT be the winner. On that point, he acquiesced, saying that he agrees that consumer’s checking account fees will go up if the Durbin amendment passes.

It was a small victory, but at least the questions are being asked.

Thank you for taking the time to write.

The merchants seem to have forgotten that the purpose of interchange is to assist in offsetting the issuers costs associated with card issuance/operating expenses and make it feasible for these cards and guaranteed payments to be available not only for the consumer but for the merchant. It seems it has also been overlooked that with card payments merchants have had a significant reduction in cash handling which reduces their operating costs and cash losses, they have reduced the number of checks they paying to process in addition to reducing the internal operational overhead associated with accepting and processing checks in addition to reducing the potential for returned checks and the need to collect on them. Has card acceptance improved the amount of time it takes a merchant to process a cash or check transaction? So, while merchants pay interchange they also have a number of benefits that go with the privilege of accepting cards.

It is unfortunate that if this amendment is passed consumers will once again end up paying the price for a short sighted proposal and lack of understanding by those representing us within our government.