H.R. 7035

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7035 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7035

To amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to require the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve system to prescribe regulations 
relating to network competition in credit card transactions, and for 
other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 13, 2026

Mr. Gooden (for himself and Ms. Lofgren) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Electronic Fund Transfer Act to require the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve system to prescribe regulations 
relating to network competition in credit card transactions, and for 
other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Credit Card Competition Act of 
2026''.

SEC. 2. COMPETITION IN CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS.

(a) In General.--Section 921 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act 
(15 U.S.C. 1693o-2) is amended--
(1) in subsection (b)--
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) 
as paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), respectively; and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) Competition in credit card transactions.--
``(A) No exclusive network.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of the Credit Card 
Competition Act of 2026, the Board shall 
prescribe regulations providing that a covered 
card issuer or payment card network shall not 
directly or through any agent, processor, or 
licensed member of a payment card network, by 
contract, requirement, condition, penalty, 
technological specification, or otherwise, 
restrict, on any credit card issued by a 
covered card issuer, the number of payment card 
networks on which an electronic credit 
transaction may be processed to--
``(I) 1 such network;
``(II) 2 or more such networks, 
if--
``(aa) each such network is 
owned, controlled, or otherwise 
operated by--

``(AA) affiliated 
persons; or

``(BB) networks 
affiliated with such 
issuer; or

``(bb) any such network is 
identified on the list 
established and updated under 
subparagraph (D); or
``(III) subject to clause (ii), the 
2 such networks that hold the 2 largest 
market shares with respect to the 
number of credit cards issued in the 
United States by licensed members of 
such networks (and enabled to be 
processed through such networks), as 
determined by the Board on the date on 
which the Board prescribes the 
regulations.
``(ii) Determinations by board.--
``(I) In general.--The Board, not 
later than 3 years after the date on 
which the regulations prescribed under 
clause (i) take effect, and not less 
frequently than once every 3 years 
thereafter, shall determine whether the 
2 networks identified under clause 
(i)(III) have changed, as compared with 
the most recent such determination by 
the Board.
``(II) Effect of determination.--If 
the Board, under subclause (I), 
determines that the 2 networks 
described in clause (i)(III) have 
changed (as compared with the most 
recent such determination by the 
Board), clause (i)(III) shall no longer 
have any force or effect.
``(B) No routing restrictions.--Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of the Credit Card 
Competition Act of 2026, the Board shall prescribe 
regulations providing that a covered card issuer or 
payment card network shall not--
``(i) directly or through any agent, 
processor, or licensed member of the network, 
by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, 
or otherwise--
``(I) inhibit the ability of any 
person who accepts credit cards for 
payments to direct the routing of 
electronic credit transactions for 
processing over any payment card 
network that--
``(aa) may process such 
transactions; and
``(bb) is not on the list 
established and updated by the 
Board under subparagraph (D);
``(II) require any person who 
accepts credit cards for payments to 
exclusively use, for transactions 
associated with a particular credit 
card, an authentication, tokenization, 
or other security technology that 
cannot be used by all of the payment 
card networks that may process 
electronic credit transactions for that 
particular credit card; or
``(III) inhibit the ability of 
another payment card network to handle 
or process electronic credit 
transactions using an authentication, 
tokenization, or other security 
technology for the processing of those 
electronic credit transactions; or
``(ii) impose any penalty or disadvantage, 
financial or otherwise, on any person for--
``(I) choosing to direct the 
routing of an electronic credit 
transaction over any payment card 
network on which the electronic credit 
transaction may be processed; or
``(II) failing to ensure that a 
certain number, or aggregate dollar 
amount, of electronic credit 
transactions are handled by a 
particular payment card network.
``(C) Applicability.--The regulations prescribed 
under subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall not apply to a 
credit card issued in a 3-party payment system model.
``(D) Designation of national security risks.--
``(i) In general.--Not later than 1 year 
after the date of enactment of the Credit Card 
Competition Act of 2026, the Board, in 
consultation with the Secretary of the 
Treasury, shall prescribe regulations to 
establish a public list of any payment card 
network--
``(I) the processing of electronic 
credit transactions by which is 
determined by the Board to pose a risk 
to the national security of the United 
States; or
``(II) that is owned, operated, or 
sponsored by a foreign state entity.
``(ii) Updating of list.--Not less 
frequently than once every 2 years after the 
date on which the Board establishes the public 
list required under clause (i), the Board, in 
consultation with the Secretary of the 
Treasury, shall update that list.
``(E) Definitions.--In this paragraph--
``(i) the terms `card issuer' and 
`creditor' have the meanings given the terms in 
section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 
U.S.C. 1602);
``(ii) the term `covered card issuer' means 
a card issuer that, together with the 
affiliates of the card issuer, has assets of 
more than $100,000,000,000;
``(iii) the term `credit card issued in a 
3-party payment system model' means a credit 
card issued by a card issuer that is--
``(I) the payment card network with 
respect to the credit card; or
``(II) under common ownership with 
the payment card network with respect 
to the credit card;
``(iv) the term `electronic credit 
transaction'--
``(I) means a transaction in which 
a person uses a credit card; and
``(II) includes a transaction in 
which a person does not physically 
present a credit card for payment, 
including a transaction involving the 
entry of credit card information onto, 
or use of credit card information in 
conjunction with, a website interface 
or a mobile telephone application; and
``(v) the term `licensed member' includes, 
with respect to a payment card network--
``(I) a creditor or card issuer 
that is authorized to issue credit 
cards bearing any logo of the payment 
card network; and
``(II) any person, including any 
financial institution and any person 
that may be referred to as an 
`acquirer', that is authorized to--
``(aa) screen and accept 
any person into any program 
under which that person may 
accept, for payment for goods 
or services, a credit card 
bearing any logo of the payment 
card network;
``(bb) process transactions 
on behalf of any person who 
accepts credit cards for 
payments; and
``(cc) complete financial 
settlement of any transaction 
on behalf of a person who 
accepts credit cards for 
payments.''; and
(2) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting ``, except that the 
Bureau shall not have authority to enforce the requirements of 
this section or any regulations prescribed by the Board under 
this section'' after ``section 918''.
(b) Effective Date.--Each set of regulations prescribed by the 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System under paragraph (2) of 
section 921(b) of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1693o-
2(b)), as amended by subsection (a) of this section, shall take effect 
on the date that is 180 days after the date on which the Board 
prescribes the final version of that set of regulations.
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