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than $60 billion in assets and allows merchants or con- Bowman said stronger collaboration among financial in-
sumers to pursue civil action against payment card net- stitutions, regulators, telecommunications providers and
works for violations. law enforcement will be necessary to combat organized
criminal activity.
The legislation comes as legal disputes continue over a
similar Illinois law that federal regulators say is preempt- Community Bank Relief Act advances to full Senate
ed by banking law. On May 8, the Seventh Circuit U.S. Legislation introduced by Senators Ted Cruz and Katie
Court of Appeals ordered a lower court to reconsider the Britt would raise the asset threshold exempting financial
Illinois case following a recent OCC ruling. Supporters say institutions from Durbin Amendment debit interchange
the Colorado bill will reduce costs for merchants, while caps from $10 billion to $15 billion, with future increases
payments industry groups argue the measure would dis- tied to inflation and cost-of-living adjustments.
rupt the payments system.
Feds aim to tackle payments fraud Supporters said many community banks have outgrown
the original threshold established in 2011 and now face
Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bow- regulatory burdens intended for much larger institutions.
man said the Fed is working with Treasury Secretary Scott
Bessent and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to establish a Merchant groups oppose the proposal, arguing it would
public-private roundtable focused on combating payments increase costs for merchants and consumers while creat-
fraud. Speaking at a May 5 symposium, Bowman said in- ing a windfall for banks exempt from interchange limits.
creasingly sophisticated fraud schemes cost the financial
system $84 billion in 2024, with only $21 billion recovered. The legislation arrives as the Federal Reserve weighs pro-
posed changes to debit interchange rates and as federal
The Fed reported that one in five U.S. adults experienced courts remain divided over whether the Fed set the origi-
fraud or scams last year, with lower-income households nal cap too high by including disputed bank costs in its
particularly vulnerable because many cannot absorb even calculations.
modest financial losses. A separate Fed report found ris-
ing fraud attempts and losses across debit cards, checks
and faster payments.

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