1.This Act may be cited as the
Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of
2009
.
2.Prohibition on
certain unfair credit and fund transfer practices
(a)The Truth in Lending
Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new
chapter:
6Prohibition on
unfair practices in electronic payment system networks
Sec. 191. Definitions.
Sec. 192. Additional charges on merchants and consumers for
premium payment cards prohibited.
Sec. 193. Certain creditor or credit card network-imposed
restrictions on merchants prohibited.
Sec. 194. Fair and transparent transactions.
Sec. 195. Enforcement.
191.For purposes of this title, the following
definitions shall apply:
(1)The term charge card has
the same meaning as in section 127(c)(4)(E).
(2)The term debit
card
means any card or other device issued by a financial institution
(as defined in section 903(8)) to a consumer for use in initiating electronic
fund transfers (as defined in section 903(6)) from the account of the consumer
at such financial institution for the purpose of transferring money between
accounts or obtaining money, property, labor, or services.
(3)Electronic
payment system networkThe
term electronic payment system network
means a network that
provides, through licensed members, processors, or agents—
(A)for the issuance
of payment cards (by credit card issuers in the case of a credit card, charge
card issuers in the case of a charge card, or financial institutions (as
defined in section 903(8)) in the case of debit cards) bearing any logo of the
network;
(B)the proprietary
services and infrastructure that route information and data to facilitate
transaction authorization, clearance, and settlement that merchants must access
in order to accept payment cards bearing any logo of the network as payment for
goods and services; and
(C)for the screening and acceptance of
merchants into the network in order to allow such merchants to accept payment
cards bearing any logo of the network as payment for goods and services.
(4)The term licenced member
, in connection
with any electronic payment system network, includes—
(A)any creditor or
charge card issuer that is authorized to issue credit cards or charge cards
bearing any logo of the network;
(B)any financial institution (as defined in
section 903(8)) that is authorized to issue debit cards to consumers who
maintain accounts at such institution; and
(C)any person,
including any financial institution, on occasion referred to as an
acquirer
that is authorized—
(i)to
screen and accept merchants into any program under which any payment card
bearing any logo of such network may be accepted by the merchant for payment
for goods or services;
(ii)to process
transactions on behalf of any such merchant for payment; and
(iii)to complete
financial settlement of any such transaction on behalf of such merchant.
(5)The term merchant
means any
person in the business of selling or providing any good or service for
consideration.
(6)The term payment card
means a credit card, a
charge card, or a debit card.
192.Additional
charges on merchants and consumers for premium payment cards
prohibited
(a)An electronic payment
system network may not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed
member of the network, require or permit any merchant to pay any interchange,
processing, or other fee in connection with any payment card transaction
initiated through a premium payment card in any amount in excess of the amount
of any such interchange, processing, or other fee that would be imposed in
connection with such payment card transactions if initiated through a
nonpremium payment card.
(b)For purposes of
subsection (a), the following definitions shall apply:
(1)The term premium
payment card
means a payment card that provides rewards or other
cardholder benefits or services for the use of the card other than those
benefits offered to any customer within the electronic payment system
network.
(2)The term nonpremium payment card
means a payment card bearing any logo of an electronic payment system network
that is not a premium payment card.
193.Certain
creditor or credit card network-imposed restrictions on merchants
prohibited
(a)Pricing display
restrictionsWith respect to
any credit card which may be used for extensions of credit through an
electronic payment system network in connection with sales transactions in
which the merchant is a person other than the card issuer, the electronic
payment system network may not, directly or through any agent, processor, or
licensed member of the network, by contract, or otherwise, restrict the
merchant’s discretion as to how to display or advertise the merchant’s
prices.
(b)An electronic payment
system network may not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed
member of the network, prohibit any merchant that otherwise accepts payment
cards bearing any logo of the network from refusing to accept any particular
type of card due to its cost, except that the seller may be prohibited from
refusing to accept a payment card issued by a particular creditor or financial
institution without respect to any cost differences.
(c)An electronic
payment system network may not, directly or through any agent, processor, or
licensed member of the network, by contract, or otherwise, inhibit the ability
of any merchant to direct consumers to the merchant’s preferred form of
payment.
(d)An electronic payment
system network may not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed
member of the network, by contract, or otherwise, require any merchant to
accept payment cards at 1 or more business locations in order to be able to
accept payment cards at another business location.
(e)Chargebacks for
transactions on certain POS terminals that exceed the allowable amount on such
devicesAn electronic payment
system network may not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed
member of the network, by contract, or otherwise, allow or require a chargeback
to any merchant for any payment involving any payment and transfer initiated by
the consumer at a point-of-sale terminal operated by the merchant on the basis
that the amount of the transaction exceeded any preauthorized or predetermined
amount for such terminal.
(f)Merchants
permitted To establish minimum or maximum amounts for payment by payment
cardsAn electronic payment
system network may not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed
member of the network, by contract, or otherwise, prohibit any merchant from
setting any maximum amount or minimum amount for the use of a payment card
bearing any logo of such network by a consumer to pay for a transaction with
such merchant.
(g)Restrictions on
network routing prohibitedAn
electronic payment system network may not, directly or through any agent,
processor, or licensed member of the network, by contract, or otherwise,
prohibit any merchant from directing the routing of payment card transactions
for processing in the way chosen by the merchant.
(h)Prohibition on
any minimum requirement for number of transactionsAn
electronic payment system network may not, directly or through any agent,
processor, or licensed member of the network, by contract, or otherwise—
(1)impose a requirement on any merchant to
meet any minimum number of transactions, in any period, in which the consumers
pay for such transactions using a payment card bearing any logo of such
network; or
(2)impose a fee on,
or take any other action that is adverse to the interests of, a merchant for
the failure of the merchant to meet any minimum number of such transactions in
any period.
194.Fair and
transparent transactions
(a)Disclosure of
contract termsAn electronic
payment system network, and any agent, processor, or licensed member of the
network, may not establish or maintain, directly or indirectly by contract or
through a licensing arrangement, any agreement with a merchant, unless the
network, agent, processor, or licensed member has made available to the
merchant all of the rules, terms, and conditions to which such merchant will be
bound under such agreement, including the complete operating rules of the
relevant payment system using payment cards bearing any logo of such network,
without restrictions on the merchant’s use of any such information.
(b)Review of rules,
terms, and agreementsThe
Federal Trade Commission shall—
(1)prescribe regulations to—
(A)ensure that all of
the rules, terms, and conditions to which a merchant or consumer is subject
under an agreement with an electronic payment system network, or any agent,
processor, or licensed member of the network, directly or indirectly, by
contract or through a licensing arrangement, are not unfair or deceptive to
consumers and merchants and are not anticompetitive; and
(B)prohibit any unfair
or deceptive act or practice or anticompetitive act or practice that may
otherwise be permitted under or result from any rule, term, or condition
described in subparagraph (A); and
(2)regularly review all of the rules, terms,
and conditions described in paragraph (1)(A) established by each electronic
payment system network, or any agent, processor, or licensed member of the
network.
(c)Interchange and
other fees
(1)Collection and
dissemination of informationThe Board shall collect, publish, and
disseminate to the public—
(A)complete
information on the interchange, processing and other fees charged by each
electronic payment system network, or any agent, processor, or licensed member
of the network, in connection with any aspect of transactions initiated by
consumers using payment cards bearing any logo of such network, including fees
imposed by the payment card issuer in connection with any such transaction;
and
(B)all of the rules, terms, and conditions to
which a merchant or a consumer is subject under an agreement with an electronic
payment system network, or any agent, processor, or licensed member of the
network, directly or indirectly by contract or through a licensing arrangement
for transactions indicated by consumers using payment cards bearing any logo of
such network.
(2)For purposes of this subsection, the Board
may prescribe regulations and issue orders requiring any electronic payment
system network, and any agent, processor, or licensed member of any such
network, to submit any information, including rules, agreements, and contracts,
that the Board determines to be necessary or appropriate for the Board to meet
the requirements of paragraph (1).
195.Subsections (a), (b), and (h) of section 130
shall be applied for purposes of this chapter by substituting the term
an electronic payment system network, or any agent, processor, or
licensed member of any such network
for creditor
each
place such term appears in such
subsections.
.
(b)Technical and
conforming amendments
(1)Section 127(a) of the Truth in Lending Act
(U.S.C. 1637(a)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (8) the following new
paragraph:
(9)In the case of any account under which a
credit card issued in connection with the account bears the logo of any
electronic payment system network, the amounts of any fees charged by the
network, or any agent, processor, or licensed member of the network, in
connection with any aspect of transactions initiated by the consumers using
such credit card, including any interchange, processing, or other
fees.
.
(2)Section 127(b) of
the Truth in Lending Act (U.S.C. 1637(b)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
(13)In the case of any account under which a
credit card issued in connection with the account bears the logo of any
electronic payment system network, if any fee was charged by the network, or
any agent, processor, or licensed member of the network, in connection with any
aspect of a transaction which resulted in an extension of credit reported on
such statement, the amount of such fee, including any interchange, processing,
or other
fee.
.
(3)Section
127(c)(1)(A) of the Truth in Lending Act (U.S.C. 1637(c)(1)(A)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new clause:
(v)Interchange and
other feesIn the case of an
application or solicitation to open an account under which a credit card issued
in connection with the account would bear the logo of any electronic payment
system network, the amounts of any fees charged by the network, or any agent,
processor, or licensed member of the network, in connection with any aspect of
any transaction initiated by the consumer using such credit card, including any
interchange, processing, or other
fees.
.
(4)Section
127(c)(4)(A) of the Truth in Lending Act (U.S.C. 1637(c)(4)(A)) is amended by
adding at the end the following new clause:
(iv)In the case of an application or
solicitation to open an account under which a charge card issued in connection
with the account would bear the logo of any electronic payment system network,
the amounts of any fees charged by the network, or any agent, processor, or
licensed member of the network, in connection with any aspect of transactions
initiated by the consumer using such charge card, including any interchange,
processing, or other
fees.
.
(5)Section 130(a) of
the Truth in Lending Act (U.S.C. 1640(a)) is amended by striking chapter
4 or 5
and inserting chapter 4, 5, or 6
.
(6)Section 130(b) of
the Truth in Lending Act (U.S.C. 1640(b)) is amended by inserting or
6
after chapter 5
.
(7)Section 130(g) of the Truth in Lending Act
(U.S.C. 1640(g)) is amended by striking chapter 4 or 5
and
inserting chapter 4, 5, or 6
.
(8)Section 906(c) of
the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (U.S.C. 1693d(c)) is amended—
(A)in paragraph (3),
by striking and
after the semicolon at the end;
(B)in paragraph (4),
by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and
;
and
(C)by adding at the
end the following new paragraph:
(5)in the case of an account under which an
electronic fund transfer may be initiated by the consumer by means of any card
or other device issued by the financial institution which bears the logo of any
electronic payment system network, if any fee was charged by the network, or
any agent, processor, or licensed member of the network, in connection with any
aspect of a transaction which resulted in an electronic fund transfer reported
on such statement, the amount of such fee, including any interchange,
processing, or other
fee.
.
(c)The table of
chapters for the Truth in Lending Act is amended by inserting after the item
relating to chapter 5 the following new item:
6. Prohibition on unfair practices in
electronic payment system
networks......................................................................................................191
.