Congress mandates credit card routing choice—but only for the biggest banks
H.R. 7035 — Credit Card Competition Act of 2026 · Filed by Lance Gooden (R-TX) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 13, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill requires large credit card issuers (those with over $100 billion in assets) and payment networks to stop forcing merchants and cardholders to use only one or two specific payment networks. Instead, merchants must be allowed to route credit card transactions through any available network, and card issuers cannot penalize merchants or cardholders for choosing alternative networks. The bill carves out exceptions for networks owned by the card issuer itself and for networks deemed national security risks.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is to mandate open routing of credit card transactions across multiple payment networks, reducing the exclusive control that large issuers and networks currently exercise. This is fundamentally a deregulation of network exclusivity rules, framed as pro-competition.
What the text implies
- The $100B asset threshold exempts most regional and community banks, potentially widening competitive advantage for the largest players while appearing to promote competition.
- The 3-party payment system carve-out (e.g., American Express, Discover) exempts closed-loop networks from routing requirements, preserving their existing business model and reducing actual competitive pressure.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
Merchants and payment processors (routing flexibility, potential fee competition); Smaller payment networks (access to larger issuer card portfolios); Fintech and alternative payment platforms (reduced network exclusivity barriers)