The California State Capitol in Sacramento, California. (Photo: Sundry Photography/Adobe Stock)
The Defense Credit Union Council (DCUC) has issued strong opposition to legislative proposals in California, Colorado, Texas, and Illinois, warning that the measures could negatively impact military families’ access to reliable and affordable financial services.
In letters sent to state lawmakers, DCUC argues that the proposed legislation would benefit large retailers at the expense of credit unions and the service members they support. The legislation, aimed at altering interchange fee structures, could disrupt existing payment systems and reduce credit access for vulnerable communities, DCUC said.
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“This bill would hand windfall profits to large retail merchants without delivering any promised price relief to consumers,” wrote DCUC Chief Advocacy Officer Jason Stverak to the California Assembly. “Most importantly, it would harm the very people we owe our support – the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, veterans, and Gold Star families who sacrifice for our nation.”
DCUC’s letter to Colorado lawmakers urged rejection of HB 1282, echoing concerns about unintended consequences for military families and the credit unions that serve them.
“These bills would do far more harm than good,” said DCUC President/CEO Anthony Hernandez. “They jeopardize credit access and financial stability for military families—all while giving large retailers a profit boost with no guaranteed benefit to consumers.”
DCUC emphasized that while the bills are framed as pro-consumer, they risk weakening financial protections and threatening the sustainability of mission-focused credit unions.
“Protecting the financial security of military families has long been a bipartisan priority,” Hernandez added. “We urge these state legislators to ensure that our nation’s heroes and their loved ones can access safe, affordable credit and banking services now and in the future.”
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Michael Ogden
Editor-in-Chief at CU Times. To connect, email at [email protected]. As Editor-in-Chief of CU Times since 2016, Michael Ogden has led the editorial team in all aspects of content strategy and execution, including the creation of the publication’s exclusive and proprietary research database of the credit union industry’s economic landscape. Under Michael’s leadership, CU Times has successfully shifted to an all-digital editorial product with new focuses on the payments, fraud, lending and regulatory beats. Most recently, he introduced a data-focused editorial product for subscribers that breaks down credit union issues into hard data, allowing for a deeper and more factual narrative for readers. In 2024, he launched the "Shared Accounts With CU Times" podcast, which offers a fresh, inside-the-newsroom perspective through interviews with leaders from the credit union industry and the regulatory world. He dives into pressing credit union issues, while revealing the personalities working behind-the-scenes to push the credit union world forward. His background includes years as a radio and TV anchor/reporter and a public relations and digital/social media manager, where he covered the food and music industries, as well as cooperatives and credit unions. Over the years, he has launched numerous exclusive video and podcast series, including a successful series of interactive backstage interviews with musicians at music festivals, showcasing his social media and live streaming production skills.
