S.Amdt. 1100

SA 1100. Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Bond) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed to amendment SA 1058 proposed by Mr. Dodd (for
himself and Mr. Shelby) to the bill H.R. 627, to amend the Truth in
Lending Act to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the
extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of title I, add the following:

SEC. 109. CONSUMER DISCOUNTS; TRANSPARENCY IN MERCHANT FEE
INFORMATION.

(a) In General.--Section 167 of the Truth in Lending Act
(15 U.S.C. 1666f) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 167. INDUCEMENTS TO CARD HOLDERS BY SELLERS OF
DISCOUNTS FOR PAYMENTS BY CASH, CHECK, OR DEBIT
CARDS; FINANCE CHARGE FOR SALES TRANSACTIONS
INVOLVING DISCOUNTS.

``(a) Cash, Check, and Debit Discounts.--With respect to a
credit card which may be used for extensions of credit in
sales transactions in which the seller is a person other than
the card issuer, the card issuer and any other covered person
may not, by contract, rule, or otherwise, prohibit any such
seller from offering a discount to a cardholder to induce the
cardholder to pay by cash, check, debit card, or similar
payment device, rather than by use of a credit card.
``(b) Finance Charge.--With respect to any sales
transaction, any discount from the regular price offered by
the seller for the purpose of inducing payment by a means not
involving the use of a particular open end credit plan or
credit card shall not constitute a finance charge, as
determined under section 106, if the seller--
``(1) offers the discount to all prospective buyers; and
``(2) discloses the availability of the discount to
consumers clearly and conspicuously.
``(c) Discount Display Restrictions.--With respect to a
credit card which may be used for extensions of credit in
sales transactions in which the seller is a person other than
the card issuer, the card issuer or any other covered person
may not, by contract, rule, or otherwise, restrict the
discretion of the seller as to how to display or advertise
the discounts offered by the seller.
``(d) Preferred Form of Payment.--A card issuer and any
other covered person may not, by contract, rule, or
otherwise, inhibit the ability of any seller to inform
consumers regarding the preference of the seller for payment
in the form of--
``(1) cash or similar means;
``(2) check or similar means;
``(3) debit card or similar device; or
``(4) credit card or similar device.
``(e) Violations.--It shall be a violation of this chapter,
enforceable as provided in section 108, for a card issuer or
any other covered person to promulgate, impose, or enforce
any fine, condition, or penalty on a seller or a cardholder,
or use any other means to prevent or limit any seller from
offering a discount pursuant to subsection (a), from setting
or displaying discounts pursuant to subsection (c), or from
informing consumers regarding a preferred form of payment
pursuant to subsection (d).
``(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) the term `covered person' means--
``(A) an electronic payment system network;
``(B) a licensed member of an electronic payment system
network; and
``(C) any other person that sets or implements the rules
for the use of an electronic payment system network; and
``(2) the term `processing fee' means any fee that is--
``(A) charged by an electronic payment system network or a
licensed member of such network in connection with any aspect
of a transaction conducted between a consumer and a seller,
using a particular payment card bearing the logo of such
electronic payment system network; and
``(B) incurred by the seller.''.
(b) Definitions.--Section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act
(15 U.S.C. 1602) is amended--
(1) in subsection (x), by striking ``or similar means'' and
inserting ``debit card or similar payment device''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(cc) Debit Card.--The term `debit card' means any
general-purpose card or other device issued or approved for
use by a financial institution (as that term is defined in
section 903 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C.
1693a)) for use in debiting the account of a cardholder for
the purpose of that cardholder obtaining goods or services,
whether authorization is signature-based, PIN-based, or
otherwise.
``(dd) Electronic Payment System Network.--The term
`electronic payment system network' means a network that
provides, through licensed members, processors, or agents--
``(1) for the issuance of credit cards, debit cards, or
other payment cards or similar devices bearing any logo of
the network;
``(2) the proprietary services and infrastructure that
route information and data to facilitate transaction
authorization, clearance, and settlement that merchants must
access in order to accept credit cards, debit cards, or other
payment cards or similar devices bearing any logo of the
network as payment for goods and services; and
``(3) for the screening and acceptance of merchants into
the network in order to allow such merchants to accept credit
cards, debit cards, or other payment cards or similar devices
bearing any logo of the network as payment for goods and
services.
``(ee) Licensed Member.--The term `licensed member', in
connection with any electronic payment system network,
includes--
``(1) any creditor or credit card issuer that is authorized
to issue credit cards or charge cards bearing any logo of the
network;
``(2) any financial institution (as that term is defined in
section 903 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C.
1693a)) that is authorized to issue debit cards to consumers
who maintain accounts at such financial institution; and
``(3) any person, including any financial institution, that
is authorized--
``(A) to screen and accept merchants into any program under
which any credit card, debit card, or other payment card or
similar device bearing any logo of such network may be
accepted by the merchant for payment for goods or services;
``(B) to process transactions on behalf of any such
merchant for payment; and
``(C) to complete financial settlement of any such
transaction on behalf of such merchant.''.
(c) Transparency in Merchant Fee Information.--Chapter 1 of
the Truth in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended
by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 115. TRANSPARENCY IN MERCHANT FEE INFORMATION.

``(a) Fee Information.--The Board shall collect, and shall
publish at least once every 2 years, in a form that is
provided to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services
of the House of Representatives, and is made available to the
public--
``(1) information on the processing fees, as such term is
defined in section 167, charged by electronic payment system
networks and licensed members of such networks in connection
with payment cards bearing any logo of such electronic
payment system networks; and
``(2) information on the rules, terms, and conditions to
which a merchant is subject under an agreement with an
electronic payment system network or a licensed member of
such network, directly or indirectly, by contract or through
a licensing arrangement for transactions initiated by
consumers using payment cards bearing any logo of such
electronic payment system network.
``(b) Purpose.--The purpose of the publication required
under subsection (a) is to regularly inform Congress,
businesses, and consumers regarding the types and amounts of
processing fees charged in connection with payment cards, and
the ways in which those types and amounts of fees change over
time.
``(c) Regulations.--For purposes of this section, the Board
may prescribe regulations and issue orders requiring any
electronic payment system network or licensed member of such
network to submit any information, including transaction and
fee data, rules, agreements, and contracts, that the Board
determines to be necessary or appropriate for the Board to
meet the requirements of subsection (a).
``(d) Confidential Information.--The Board shall exclude
from the publication required by subsection (a) any
information collected from an electronic payment system
network or a licensed member of such network which the Board
deems to be confidential, proprietary, or a trade secret,
such that public disclosure of the information would harm
competition and consumers.''.
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