[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 99 (Wednesday, June 7, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2007-S2008]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Welch, and Mr. 
        Vance):
  S. 1838. 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; to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1838

       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 2023''.

     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 2023, 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 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

[[Page S2008]]

     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 
     2023, 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 2023, 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.
                                 ______