Ruling On Illinois Interchange Case Expected Soon
Oral arguments in the Illinois interchange case took place Wednesday, America’s Credit Unions reported.
The case is a challenge to the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) brought by America’s Credit Unions, the Illinois Credit Union League, and banking groups in August. The IFPA would ban financial institutions from charging or receiving interchange fees in Illinois on the portion of a debit or credit card transaction attributable to tax or gratuity.
Following oral arguments, Ashley Sharp with the Illinois Credit Union League joined with Ben Jackson from the Illinois Bankers Association in releasing a joint statement: “As our legal team shared in the hearing, this misguided state law will unleash payment chaos on the people of Illinois unless the court grants us a preliminary injunction barring its implementation. The payment system IFPA calls for barring interchange fees on taxes and tips does not exist anywhere else in the world, and for good reason. It is a bad idea that will create unnecessary mayhem for consumers, businesses and financial institutions of all sizes, while padding the profits of corporate megastores.”
Credit unions’ efforts to challenge the state law received support with two additional filings earlier this month. The Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency filed amicus briefs supporting credit unions’ arguments that the law is ill-conceived.
A ruling on the preliminary injunction request could be imminent, ACU said.