6/16/2026

​WASHINGTON, DC – On Monday, June 15, Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak provided testimony before the Massachusetts Special Legislative Commission to Study the Future of Payments and Sales Transactions by Credit Card and the Impacts for Small Businesses during the Commission's fourth hearing in Boston.

Testifying on behalf of DCUC, the national association representing credit unions serving servicemembers, veterans, military families, Stverak urged lawmakers to consider the broader operational and consumer impacts of state-level interchange legislation. During the hearing, Stverak cautioned that emerging state-specific interchange proposals, including legislation modeled after Illinois' law, extend beyond fee restrictions and create complex operational requirements for payment systems. He noted such measures can further present challenges for military families, whose financial lives often span multiple states and rely on nationally integrated payment networks. 

 

Additionally, DCUC highlighted recent regulatory developments, including the National Credit Union Administration's (NCUA) interim final rule clarifying federal preemption of certain state restrictions for federally chartered credit unions. DCUC cautioned that differing treatment between state and federal charters could create competitive imbalances and place additional pressure on the credit union system's long-standing dual-charter structure. 

 

"State interchange laws may sound narrow, but in practice they reach deeply into how the payments system actually works," Stverak testified. "For defense credit unions, interchange revenue is not excess profit. It helps fund fraud prevention, cybersecurity, rewards, secure digital banking, financial counseling, low- or no-fee products, deployment relief, and, in many cases, on-base or military-community access points that exist because members need them, not because they are highly profitable." 

 

During the hearing, DCUC member Hanscom Federal Credit Union and its President and CEO, Peter Rice, also provided a compelling real-world perspective on how interchange restrictions could reduce credit unions', especially smaller-scale institutions’, ability to deliver affordable financial services and invest in member benefits: 

 

“[T]his is not primarily a conversation about interchange; it's one about trust. Every time a consumer taps a card at a local business, the consumer believes three things: their information is safe, their money is safe, and if something goes wrong, someone will make it right. This is the foundation of modern commerce. But we need to ask a simple question: who will pay to protect that trust? According to the FBI, Massachusetts residents lost nearly $339 million to cybercrime in 2024 alone. Banks and credit unions refunded that amount of money. It's a cost that we should not forget as we consider this legislation. When the fraud occurs, community financial institutions answer the phone, investigate the claim, absorb losses, and restore confidence. The credit union sees the victim, and the federal law requires us to make them whole.” 

 

Rice continued with a powerful analogy:  

“Imagine Massachusetts required National Grid to build power plants, maintain transmission lines, restore service after storms, invest in cybersecurity, comply with regulations, and keep the lights on. Then imagine lawmakers decided that part of National Grid's revenue should instead be redirected to retailers. Most people would immediately recognize the problem. National Grid would still carry the responsibility, the risk, and the costs, but someone else would receive part of the revenue. The payment system works the exact same way. Supporters of this legislation argue reducing interchange costs will lower prices for consumers, and this is a very worthy goal, but Congress already conducted a similar experiment through the Durbin amendment. Free checking fell from 60% to 20% nationally. Monthly checking account fees increased from $4.34 to $7.44. Minimum balances increased by 25%. And according to the study by the Richmond Federal Reserve, only 1% of merchants reported actually lowering prices. The costs didn't disappear, they simply moved.” 

 

“These are not theoretical concerns, they are practical impacts that lawmakers must consider as they evaluate the effects on consumers, financial institutions, and local economies,” says Stverak. 

 

DCUC continues to advocate for policies that preserve payment system reliability, protect military families and consumers, and ensure credit unions can continue delivering mission-focused financial services to communities nationwide.