For Immediate Release Contact: Rachel Wolf
March 24, 2011 202.331.2120

**Telephonic Press Conference, TODAY, March 24, 2010 at 2:15pm EST**
**Dial-in number: 800-894-5910, Passcode: REFORM**

Senator Durbin Joins Consumer Advocates, Small Businesses to Highlight Need for Swipe Fee Reform

Threats to Delay Debit Card Reform Part of Larger Effort to Undo Dodd-Frank

As the country’s largest financial institutions spend hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to beat back debit card swipe fee reforms, Senator Durbin and a group of dedicated consumer advocates and small business owners will hold a press call TODAY at 2:15pm EST in order to highlight the broad support for the reforms.

Swipe fee reform, authored by Senator Durbin, was included in the financial reform package last year with a tremendous bipartisan vote of support. The big banks and their credit card allies, unfortunately, want to make sure that Main Street business owners and consumers never see a cent of the much-needed reforms—and have been saturating the press and the Hill with misleading claims about the provisions. Consumers and merchants have united in the fight to present the facts on swipe fee reform and ensure that the reforms are implemented as currently written.

Swipe fee reform places reasonable limits on the fees that Visa and MasterCard set on behalf of the nation’s largest 1% of banks. The reforms will mean that big banks no longer have the power to squeeze Main Street for nearly $20 billion in debit card swipe fees each year. Under the law Congress enacted, small business owners will see lower swipe fees and consumers will benefit as savings are passed along through lower prices and discounts.

WHO:
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Lisa Donner, Executive Director of Americans for Financial Reform
Art Potash, CEO of Potash Bros. Market
Ed Mierzwinski, Program Director at U.S. PIRG

WHAT:
Consumer Advocates Press Call in Support of Swipe Fee Reform

WHEN:
TODAY, March 24, at 2:15pm EST

Call-in Info:
Dial In: 800.894.5910, Password: REFORM