PENDING LEGISLATION THAT COULD AFFECT YOU

A pivotal time in legislation has come upon us that has the ability to affect People’s Trust and our members. Now, more than ever, is the time for us to communicate with our elected officials on two critical issues that are currently being proposed on Capitol Hill; a restriction on Overdraft Protection Programs and a debate about credit/debit card interchange. Below are some key points to keep in mind and we urge you to contact your legislators regarding these issues. You can do so by clicking here.

Overdraft Protection
H.R. 3904 and S. 1799, both currently in committee, would limit your ability to use overdraft protection. This valuable service protects you from unforeseen instances where you do not have sufficient funds in your account. This is a consumer-friendly way of protecting you from bouncing a check, utility bill, grocery store debit or other important transactions. If Congress limits consumers’ ability to access this service when they occasionally need it, consumers could be forced to incur more credit card debt, rely on unregulated financial service products like payday lenders, or other less responsible financial solutions. The overdraft protection program People’s Trust offers ensures that you have smart, less costly options available when you need them the most.

This proposed legislation would force: 

We urge you to oppose this legislation. You can click here to email your legislators in opposition to this legislation. There is proposed wording you can use as well as add your own. They even make it easy for you to find out who represents you. Simply type in your home address and it will pre-populate who is to receive the information.

There is also a special number that has been set up for credit union members to voice their concerns. It is 877-223-5275.


Interchange Debate
Interchange is a business to business transaction that involves merchants and financial institutions. It does not currently impact consumers as the merchants would have Congress believe. It is simply the cost that merchants pay in exchange for the convenience of accepting debit and credit cards. As it stands, there is a possibility that merchants will shift this cost of doing business to the consumer.

If you have written a check to a merchant you know how meticulous they are about verifying your information…but what about credit and debit cards. Sometimes you don’t even have to show the card to the merchant to make your purchase. That’s because when you use a credit or debit card the merchant has absolutely zero liability for the returned item. Whereas when you write a check and it is returned the money is reversed from their account.

You rely on your credit and/or debit card for everyday purchases and merchants benefit from that convenience; they don’t have to deal with cash or wait for a check to clear. It is simply unnecessary to interfere in a system that is working. This legislation would hurt consumers like you, 90 million other credit union members, and the thousands of credit unions that serve them. If harmful interchange legislation were to pass, there is a possibility that People’s Trust may have to stop issuing credit or debit cards altogether resulting in: 

• Reduced availability and options
• Reduced competition
• Increased costs

We urge you to oppose this legislation. You can click here to email your legislators in opposition to this legislation. There is proposed wording you can use as well as add your own. They even make it easy for you to find out who represents you. Simply type in your home address and it will pre-populate who is to receive the information.

There is also a special number that has been set up for credit union members to voice their concerns. It is 877-223-5275.