A separate bill focusing on the cryptocurrency business this week gives a bipartisan bill on credit-card swipe fees, which has been dormant for years, another chance to pass the U.S. Senate.
Later this week, there is a possibility that the Credit Card Competition Act, which aims to provide retailers more options when using credit-card networks, will be added as an addition to the Genius Act, a bill that aims to regulate and strengthen stablecoins. One kind of cryptocurrency whose value is tied to another asset, such as the dollar, is called a stablecoin.
According to a group of Washington policy analysts at Raymond James led by Ed Mills, the Credit Card Competition Act is unlikely to become law and the financial impact would probably be little. However, the analysts noted in a note on Monday that investors have often dismissed this issue and that it is an undervalued risk.
They went on to say that the implementation of the credit-card laws would be advantageous for American Express (AXP) and Capital One Financial (COF), but obviously detrimental for Mastercard (MA) and Visa (V). Additionally, the Raymond James team emphasized that the stablecoin law may be “torpedo” if the credit-card legislation were included.
According to a recent statement from the Merchants Payments Coalition, a lobbying group for shops and other businesses that back the credit-card legislation, it’s “time for Congress to deal with the hidden credit-card fees driving up the prices of nearly everything we buy.” According to a social media post by the Electronic Payments Coalition, which advocates on behalf of banks, card networks, and other financial institutions, “proponents of this legislation claim it promotes competition,” but “the truth is it only benefits corporate mega-stores at the expense of smaller financial institutions.”
