Lawmakers are taking another stab at regulating the power of the card giants, and that’s weighing on shares of Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. Wednesday even amid some doubts that the newest efforts will succeed.
A group of senators announced Wednesday that they were reintroducing legislation that would require merchants to get a choice of at least two routing networks when consumers pay by credit card. One of those would have to be outside the top two networks. The latest proposed Senate legislation — introduced by Durbin; Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican; Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat; and Sen. J.D. Vance, an Ohio Republican — mirrored an attempt made by a smaller subset of that group during the prior Congress that failed to go anywhere. Members of the House of Representatives appear to be taking up the initiative as well.Visa’s shares V were off 2.2% as of around midday Wednesday, while Mastercard’s stock MA was off 2.4%.
Don’t miss: Mastercard rolls out its first inclusive credit card for visually impaired consumers in the U.S.“Skyrocketing swipe fees have been driving up prices for consumers for far too long, and we are confident this is the year Congress is going to say it’s time for that to stop,” Stephanie Martz, the National Retail Federation’s chief administrative officer, said in a Wednesday release. “Competition will bring these fees under control and strengthen security at the same time.