[The following is a paid advertisement.]

The proposed Illinois budget deal contains a cap on the merchant discount fee that reimburses retailers for remitting sales tax revenue to the State, a change that only affects retailers generating over $11 million per year in sales. That’s less than 1% of business in Illinois.

In exchange for this provision, the Illinois Retail Merchants Association solidified a deal that would create a major disruption in the electronic payments system. The Interchange Fee Prohibition Act would prohibit interchange from being charged on the sales tax or gratuity portion of a receipt.

This new Act, contained in HB 4951 has NO revenue impact on the State, and would have major impact on card processing in Illinois. The impact threatens consumer privacy, increases expense to all parties to electronic transactions, and will be detrimental small businesses and online retailers doing business in Illinois.

Simply put, the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act is bad public policy – which is why the proposal has been rejected each time it has come up in other states. STOP efforts to disrupt the current interchange system. REMOVE the Interchange Fee Prohibition Act from HB 4951!