EMPOWER THE GRASS ROOTS OF YOUR COMMUNITY

***DISCLAIMER: As always, this brief policy article represents my own research and opinions and does not purport to represent the opinions of nor was it funded by any third party organization.***


"No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing an office and stealing a purse." -Theodore Roosevelt .

"We believe this (Debit Card Interchange) rule should be thoroughly and expeditiously reviewed prior to implementation to ensure that it will not raise fees or otherwise harm at-risk communities, including communities of color." - Hilary Shelton, NAACP

Although pleas from concerned military, rural and urban families regarding the looming threat to free debit cards and free checking continue to pour in, I have been heartened by the thoughtful messages I've been receiving from fellow financial services industry  leaders describing their grass roots efforts to ignite Congressional action to delay implementation of the ill-conceived Debit Card Interchange Rule (see: http://www.nafcu.org/Tertiary.aspx?id=22587).

As we in the industry are reminded daily, Senate Bill 575 has yet to be brought up for a vote, as Senator Tester (D-MT) has yet to garner the necessary votes for passage. This is not a time to let up, but a time to let loose our resources to bear down on our elected officials to take well-reasoned pro-consumer action to enact a delay while objective study of the proposed Rule's impact can be undertaken.


Our advocates in the Beltway, led by Frank Keating (ABA) and Fred Becker (NAFCU), are to be commended for their tireless efforts, in concert with their state counterparts, to educate the public about the very real household economic effect that implementation of this dubious Rule would wreak. But simply posting any of the following web links on our Internet home pages and expecting our consumers to jump up and take action en masse is an inadequate strategy.
                                                                                                                                                                         http://www.savemyfreechecking.com/


http://www.saveyourdebitcard.com/


http://www.stopthedebitcardrule.com/

We must embrace our consumers with the same level of engagement that we do when meeting their financial product and service needs. Much as our consumers require our expertise and guidance to assist them in identifying appropriate deposit, loan and investment products, so too must we stand ready to assist them to more fully understand the real financial price that their families will pay if we allow the demise of the current free market electronic payments system.

Since we don't solely rely upon a newsletter article, an email campaign or a home page posting to conduct our day-to-day business, we must employ the same face-to-face actions to engage, educate, and empower our loyal consumers to take collective grass roots action. Based upon what some of our colleagues across the nation are doing, I ask you:

* Have you prepared your retail teams with adequate FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) material to aid them as they educate and assist your consumers to better understand the need to take action on this issue.

* Have you placed prominent educational materials (posters, buck slips, brochures) at your retail locations and ATM kiosks to raise awareness?

* Have you included your Congressional representative(s)' and Senators' district constituent relations office phone numbers and address prominently on such materials?

* Are you offering prepared letters and self-addressed envelopes directed toward those elected officials to your retail branch consumers for their signature and easy mailing?

We must make the looming cost of failing to delay/defeat the Rule very real and very personal to our public. Our consumers trust us with their investment choices, their home-buying dreams, their vehicle financing...they will trust us if we engage them at that same personal, community-based level of compassion and understanding regarding the impending loss of free checking and free debit card transactions. Our consumers deserve our continued best efforts.

Don't forget: The proposed Rule was a pro-business creation conceived by lobbyist Rob Green, Executive Director of the National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR), these trade associations represent corporate retail and restaurant conglomerates that have long sought to unilaterally renegotiate the debit card interchange fees to which they had contractually agreed. 

Thank you for your continued efforts at your institutions to engage, educate, and empower your consumers to contact their elected Congressional Representatives to voice their disapproval of this proposed Rule.