Prioritizing regulatory relief, interchange concerns in Treasury meeting

Working to ensure credit union concerns are heard by a leading voice in financial regulation, America’s Credit Unions President/CEO Scott Simpson and Senior Vice President of Advocacy Greg Mesack met with Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy John Crews Thursday. In his capacity at Treasury, Crews advises Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on policies related to financial institutions, regulation, and legislation.

The group shared the importance of modernizing key regulations to free up credit union time and resources for additional member service and detailed why America’s Credit Unions and the Illinois Credit Union League are fighting the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) before it is scheduled to become effective July 1, stressing the importance of strong preemption authority for credit unions.

The IFPA would prohibit the collection of interchange on tax and gratuity portions of a card transaction in Illinois. In numerous legal filings, America’s Credit Unions and ICUL have stated that the law interferes with multiple federal powers, including duties carried out by the Treasury.

America’s Credit Unions will continue to engage with the administration and policymakers on these and other credit union priorities.