ICBA and CBAI Support Implementation Delay, Urge Illinois to Repeal Unworkable Interchange Law

Washington, D.C. (June 1, 2026) - The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and the Community Bankers Association of Illinois (CBAI) issued the following statement on Illinois' vote to delay implementation of the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act.

"ICBA and CBAI support the Illinois General Assembly's vote to delay its misguided interchange law by another year, which recognizes that the law would significantly disrupt the payments system. To avoid harming consumers and the small businesses and local community banks that serve them, Illinois should fully repeal this unworkable law.

"As ICBA and state community banking associations noted in a recent letter supporting the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's interim final order concluding that federal law preempts the IFPA as applied to national banks, these changes are herculean, time-consuming, and inherently risky. With Illinois home to one of the largest contingents of state-chartered community banks in the nation, this law could drive community banks away from offering credit and debit card services in the communities they serve. We call on Illinois policymakers to use its implementation delay to repeal the IFPA to avoid harming access to card services in local communities across the state, and we encourage other states considering similar laws to examine the harmful impact to small businesses and consumers the Illinois law threatens to impose."

About ICBA

The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation's community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.

As local and trusted sources of credit, America's community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers' financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA's website at icba.org.