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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3623 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3623
To amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to require the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve system to prescribe regulations
relating to network competition in credit card transactions, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 13, 2026
Mr. Marshall (for himself, Mr. Durbin, and Mr. Welch) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to require the Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve system to prescribe regulations
relating to network competition in credit card transactions, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Credit Card Competition Act of
2026''.
SEC. 2. COMPETITION IN CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 921 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act
(15 U.S.C. 1693o-2) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4)
as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) Competition in credit card transactions.--
``(A) No exclusive network.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of the Credit Card
Competition Act of 2026, the Board shall
prescribe regulations providing that a covered
card issuer or payment card network shall not
directly or through any agent, processor, or
licensed member of a payment card network, by
contract, requirement, condition, penalty,
technological specification, or otherwise,
restrict, on any credit card issued by a
covered card issuer, the number of payment card
networks on which an electronic credit
transaction may be processed to--
``(I) 1 such network;
``(II) 2 or more such networks,
if--
``(aa) each such network is
owned, controlled, or otherwise
operated by--
``(AA) affiliated
persons; or
``(BB) networks
affiliated with such
issuer; or
``(bb) any such network is
identified on the list
established and updated under
subparagraph (D); or
``(III) subject to clause (ii), the
2 such networks that hold the 2 largest
market shares with respect to the
number of credit cards issued in the
United States by licensed members of
such networks (and enabled to be
processed through such networks), as
determined by the Board on the date on
which the Board prescribes the
regulations.
``(ii) Determinations by board.--
``(I) In general.--The Board, not
later than 3 years after the date on
which the regulations prescribed under
clause (i) take effect, and not less
frequently than once every 3 years
thereafter, shall determine whether the
2 networks identified under clause
(i)(III) have changed, as compared with
the most recent such determination by
the Board.
``(II) Effect of determination.--If
the Board, under subclause (I),
determines that the 2 networks
described in clause (i)(III) have
changed (as compared with the most
recent such determination by the
Board), clause (i)(III) shall no longer
have any force or effect.
``(B) No routing restrictions.--Not later than 1
year after the date of enactment of the Credit Card
Competition Act of 2026, the Board shall prescribe
regulations providing that a covered card issuer or
payment card network shall not--
``(i) directly or through any agent,
processor, or licensed member of the network,
by contract, requirement, condition, penalty,
or otherwise--
``(I) inhibit the ability of any
person who accepts credit cards for
payments to direct the routing of
electronic credit transactions for
processing over any payment card
network that--
``(aa) may process such
transactions; and
``(bb) is not on the list
established and updated by the
Board under subparagraph (D);
``(II) require any person who
accepts credit cards for payments to
exclusively use, for transactions
associated with a particular credit
card, an authentication, tokenization,
or other security technology that
cannot be used by all of the payment
card networks that may process
electronic credit transactions for that
particular credit card; or
``(III) inhibit the ability of
another payment card network to handle
or process electronic credit
transactions using an authentication,
tokenization, or other security
technology for the processing of those
electronic credit transactions; or
``(ii) impose any penalty or disadvantage,
financial or otherwise, on any person for--
``(I) choosing to direct the
routing of an electronic credit
transaction over any payment card
network on which the electronic credit
transaction may be processed; or
``(II) failing to ensure that a
certain number, or aggregate dollar
amount, of electronic credit
transactions are handled by a
particular payment card network.
``(C) Applicability.--The regulations prescribed
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall not apply to a
credit card issued in a 3-party payment system model.
``(D) Designation of national security risks.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of the Credit Card
Competition Act of 2026, the Board, in
consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury, shall prescribe regulations to
establish a public list of any payment card
network--
``(I) the processing of electronic
credit transactions by which is
determined by the Board to pose a risk
to the national security of the United
States; or
``(II) that is owned, operated, or
sponsored by a foreign state entity.
``(ii) Updating of list.--Not less
frequently than once every 2 years after the
date on which the Board establishes the public
list required under clause (i), the Board, in
consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury, shall update that list.
``(E) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
``(i) the terms `card issuer' and
`creditor' have the meanings given the terms in
section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act (15
U.S.C. 1602);
``(ii) the term `covered card issuer' means
a card issuer that, together with the
affiliates of the card issuer, has assets of
more than $100,000,000,000;
``(iii) the term `credit card issued in a
3-party payment system model' means a credit
card issued by a card issuer that is--
``(I) the payment card network with
respect to the credit card; or
``(II) under common ownership with
the payment card network with respect
to the credit card;
``(iv) the term `electronic credit
transaction'--
``(I) means a transaction in which
a person uses a credit card; and
``(II) includes a transaction in
which a person does not physically
present a credit card for payment,
including a transaction involving the
entry of credit card information onto,
or use of credit card information in
conjunction with, a website interface
or a mobile telephone application; and
``(v) the term `licensed member' includes,
with respect to a payment card network--
``(I) a creditor or card issuer
that is authorized to issue credit
cards bearing any logo of the payment
card network; and
``(II) any person, including any
financial institution and any person
that may be referred to as an
`acquirer', that is authorized to--
``(aa) screen and accept
any person into any program
under which that person may
accept, for payment for goods
or services, a credit card
bearing any logo of the payment
card network;
``(bb) process transactions
on behalf of any person who
accepts credit cards for
payments; and
``(cc) complete financial
settlement of any transaction
on behalf of a person who
accepts credit cards for
payments.''; and
(2) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting ``, except that the
Bureau shall not have authority to enforce the requirements of
this section or any regulations prescribed by the Board under
this section'' after ``section 918''.
(b) Effective Date.--Each set of regulations prescribed by the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System under paragraph (2) of
section 921(b) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693o-
2(b)), as amended by subsection (a) of this section, shall take effect
on the date that is 180 days after the date on which the Board
prescribes the final version of that set of regulations.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
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