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News

announced the "possibility of issuing" a digital currency (as cryptocurrencies Surcharging gets green
are often described) in May. Fed Governor Lael Brainard later described the light in Colorado
Fed's work in greater detail in remarks to a crypto conference.
Kansas lawmakers just approved
Items on the Fed's to-do list include: publication of a discussion paper for legislation that greenlights
public comment this summer laying out the Fed's current thinking on digital merchant surcharging of credit card
currencies; initiatives at the Atlanta and Cleveland Federal Reserve Banks transactions in the state. That leaves
exploring how central bank digital currencies can improve financial inclusion; just two states, Connecticut and
and a collaboration between the Boston Fed and the Massachusetts Institute of Massachusetts, where credit card
Technology to build and test a hypothetical digital currency platform. surcharging remains banned. The
Colorado bill—SB21-091—passed
overwhelmingly with bipartisan
support in the state house and senate
on June 9, and now heads to the
governor's desk.

The legislation sets forth required
disclosures, maximum surcharge
amounts and prohibitions on
surcharging debit card transactions.
Michael Tomko, COO at CardX, said
the Colorado law signals a shift by
lawmakers toward more prescriptive
surcharging laws. Lawmakers want
to permit surcharging but want to
define affirmative requirements for
doing it the right way, he stated.
CardX is a technology company
that helps merchants implement
surcharging and cash discounting
programs in compliance with card
brand rules and state laws.
Call to action for CUs:
digital payments key

Credit union members are digitally
engaged consumers of financial
services. But that engagement
doesn't necessarily extend to their
credit unions. To win the hearts
and wallets of their members, credit
unions need to refine their focus on
payments. That's the upshot of new
research conducted by the global
consultancy EY.

The research, commissioned by CO-
OP Financial Services, a payments
and technology company serving
credit unions, found that PayPal is
the most trusted brand among 25
percent of credit union members;
credit unions were runner up,
ranked as most trusted by 21 percent.
The top three drivers of trust, the
research found, are data protection
and privacy, respect, and caring
about customer needs.

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