Sponsors (7)
The bill increases routing competition to lower merchant card-processing fees and inform stakeholders about foreign-linked networks, while creating compliance costs, potential security complications, preserving some incumbents through exemptions, and raising reputational/due-process concerns.
Small-business owners can route credit-card transactions over competing networks instead of being forced to use a single network, lowering their processing costs and reducing fees.
Payment networks and market participants will face fewer anti-competitive contracting constraints by large card issuers, increasing competition among payment networks.
Middle-class consumers may pay lower prices if merchants pass on reduced card-acceptance costs created by increased routing competition.
Middle-class families and small-business owners may face higher costs if large card issuers and networks pass along the compliance and systems-change costs required by the law.
Consumers could face increased fraud or security risks because prohibiting exclusive authentication/tokenization requirements may allow incompatible technologies and complicate fraud management.
Small-business owners and consumers may get less benefit than expected because exemptions for three‑party networks and a large-market exception for the two biggest networks preserve entrenched market power.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 13, 2026 by Lance Gooden · Last progress January 13, 2026
Requires the Federal Reserve to write rules that stop large credit‑card issuers and payment networks from forcing transactions onto a single network or from using contracts and technical rules that block merchants from choosing how to route credit‑card transactions. The rulemaking must be issued within one year, will take effect 180 days after the Fed issues final regulations, and includes a carve‑out for three‑party card systems and a public national‑security list of risky foreign‑linked networks. The law targets large card issuers (those with affiliates and assets over $100 billion) and payment card networks, protects merchants’ ability to route transactions (including card‑not‑present sales), and requires the Fed, with Treasury, to publish and update a list of networks that pose national security concerns. The Fed must also reassess market leaders every three years and can remove statutory exceptions if market shares change.