Credit Card Competition Act of 2026

This bill would require the Federal Reserve Board, within 1 year, to write rules for large credit card issuers (those with more than $100 billion in assets) and payment card networks. Under the rules, these issuers could not limit a credit card to only one network, or only to networks owned by affiliated companies, and would have to allow processing over additional networks beyond the two largest. Merchants would be able to choose which allowed network routes a credit card transaction, and issuers and networks could not penalize them for that choice. The Board, working with the Treasury Secretary, would keep a public list of networks that pose a national security risk or are tied to foreign governments, and those networks could not count toward these requirements. The rules would not apply to cards issued by a company that also runs its own network, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would not enforce them.

Full text and official record on Congress.gov

Sponsors

• Lance Gooden Republican sponsor
• 8 cosponsors