The Senate's number two Democrat said today there will be at least three amendments to regulate interchange fees during that chamber's upcoming debate on regulatory restructuring and backers will frame them as a way to assist small businesses.

"I am hoping we will be able to get Republican support because this is a way to help small businesses, which is the way to get economic growth," Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said in response to a question from Credit Union Times during a conference call with reporters.

Durbin said there will be amendments to: Mandate a lower interchange fee on debit card transactions; Guarantee that the interchange fee for the government is the lowest possible rate because the government is such a heavy user of credit cards; and Give retailers additional flexibility by letting them set a maximum or minimum limit for purchases with a credit card or other payment device and let merchants not accept certain cards, if they deem the processing fees to be too high.