Resolution Supporting Access to Safe and Reliable Payments Systems

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Policy Status

  • Type: Model Resolution
  • Status: Draft
  • Date Introduced: November 29, 2023

Issues

  • Economic Development

    • Task Forces

  • Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development

    • Tags

  • SNPS 2023

    • Summary

    This resolution supports a robust payments system grounded in American values and opposes Congressional efforts to overreach into the wallets of American consumers and small businesses. These efforts place the routing of credit card transactions under the purview of the federal government and central bank, put the privacy of cardholders at risk, and eliminate card rewards programs. Imposing government mandates not only violate free market principles but negatively impact community financial institutions, undermining personal privacy. Americans, regardless of their economic status or geographic location, deserve access to the most robust, secure, and reliable payment system that the free market can offer.
    Draft

    Resolution Supporting Access to Safe and Reliable Payments Systems

    WHEREAS, Americans have developed an exceptionally advanced and innovative payments system through a steadfast focus on private sector leadership that respects the rights of individuals and companies to make their own informed choices about how they pay and are paid; and

    WHEREAS, the market-based payments approach in this country responds to the dynamic and diverse needs of American entrepreneurs and consumers rather than operating under static government mandates; and

    WHEREAS, while other nations import payments technology to run their economy, American companies set the standard of the global payments ecosystem; and

    WHEREAS, the importance of prioritizing the protection of consumers from government interference that would shift financial transactions to less secure, less innovative, and potentially risky providers who could place consumers and their financial data in a more vulnerable position; and

    WHEREAS, states should oppose any governmental economic favoritism, wherever proposed, that would negatively impact consumers, provide less choice and access to popular consumer benefits (cashback, rewards programs), threaten airline services, or undermine critical payment fraud protections while increasing national security risks; and

    WHEREAS, the commandeering of the payments system by the government or the central bank threatens personal privacy, innovation, and American economic leadership; and

    WHEREAS, the United States has the most robust and secure financial system in the world, and a strong network supporting small businesses and protecting consumers; and

    WHEREAS, more than 486 million credit cards are in use in the United States, with more than 196 million Americans holding at least one credit card; and

    WHEREAS, states should protect consumers’ right to choose their payment methods and pay transparent prices by preventing the addition of surcharges (an extra fee) when a customer chooses to pay with a credit card; and

    WHEREAS, the credit card payments industry is a healthy and competitive space, and further legislation to impose government-mandated price controls in this area is both unnecessary and harmful to innovation and security.

    NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the{legislative body} of the state of {name of state} urges Congress to protect consumers from government interference in the free markets and any actions that would weaken our national security by opposing Congressional efforts to overreach into the wallets of American consumers and small businesses.