Interview: Richard Hunt wants to protect your credit card rewards from a “draconian” bill
Even though Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) may not run for reelection in 2026, he may be gunning for Americans’ credit card rewards, Richard Hunt, the executive chairman of the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC), told the Washington Reporter in an interview.
Hunt is a well-known advocate and giant in the D.C. financial services space who is deeply respected across the aisle. He has a reputation for being tenacious and a brawler on policy issues; he is detail-oriented, but also, in a complimenting description from a Hill staffer, “down-to-earth and doesn’t take himself too seriously.”
Durbin has pushed for the Durbin-Marshall Act alongside Sen. Roger Marshall (R., Kansas) for years. If it becomes law, Americans would move the current “safe and secure” payment system “that provides access to credit,” to one “that would increase fraud, limit credit cards, and eliminate all your valuable reward miles,” Hunt said.
Hunt’s EPC is a “coalition made up of financial institutions, large and small, a group of airports, airlines and small businesses across the country, making sure that payment for American consumers are safe and secure” and leads the opposition to the Durbin-Marshall bill, which Hunt called “draconian.”
Durbin’s push for his bill even saw his Judiciary Committee steal the thunder from the Banking Committee which most believe would have jurisdiction over credit cards with a hearing that flew mostly under the radar last week.
The EPC is also concerned about efforts to erode patent protection for companies from possible government mandates that require companies to “turn over their technology that they invented to competitors.” That, he cautioned, “would be like Coca-Cola having to tell Pepsi their secret formula.”
Hunt, a veteran of the Washington, D.C., scene, also shared his tips for young staffers with the Reporter. “Put away your iPhone for several hours a day and observe and listen to people around you,” he said.
Below is a transcript of our interview with Richard Hunt, lightly edited for clarity.
Washington Reporter:
Can you give us a rundown of what the Electronic Payments Coalition (EPC) is, what you are tracking in the lame duck, and what your goals are to see with unified GOP control in 2025?
Richard Hunt:
We are a coalition made up of financial institutions, large and small, a group of airports, airlines and small businesses across the country, making sure that payment for American consumers are safe and secure. We are opposed to the Durbin-Marshall credit card bill, which would totally transform the way our payments are processed, mainly credit cards.
Washington Reporter:
With Republicans taking over the Senate, Sen. Dick Durbin will be taking a back seat next year, and is maybe also retiring. What does 2025 look like for you in terms of pushing back on bills like that?
Richard Hunt:
Well, we certainly expect Chairman Durbin to mount an all out effort to try and secure passage of the payment system like he did in 2010 regardless of whether he’s seeking reelection or not, as they have been doing for last decade. So we’re on full alert educating members of Congress about the draconian aspects of the Marshall-Durbin bill. This would completely change the way your credit card currently works. Today, it will go through a safe and secure payment system that provides access to credit to one that would increase fraud, limit credit cards and eliminate all your valuable reward miles.
Washington Reporter:
Your campaign against that bill has been fairly ubiquitous. What are you guys working on that is flying under the radar?
Richard Hunt:
Well, we certainly are very pleased about how folks understand how this will affect your reward miles. One thing that we’re going to be concentrating on over the next few weeks is how the government will mandate that American companies turn over their technology that they invented to competitors. That would be like Coca-Cola having to tell Pepsi their secret formula. That story has yet to be told.
Washington Reporter:
What’s your favorite job you’ve ever had?
Richard Hunt:
My first job out of college was as a driver for a member of Congress in a very competitive district. So it was all out campaigning every single day for two years, and that went on for around four years. And by being a driver, you’re privy to conversations that ordinarily you would not be privy to for years within an office. Well, I got to learn the secret workings, if you will, of both the campaign and congressional staff and priorities right away, right out of college.
Washington Reporter:
What advice do you have to younger Hill staff who are just starting off their careers?
Richard Hunt:
I would say, make sure you broaden and strengthen your professional network every single day, and take a leave of absence every two years to work on a campaign. You’d be surprised how much you can do within a 24 hour time period.
Washington Reporter:
As you survey the D.C. landscape, who stands out to you as someone who you admire?
Richard Hunt:
David Rubenstein. He is a person who has taken his own wealth that he created himself and donated it to many causes within Washington, D.C., such as making sure we secure the Emancipation Proclamation to the Magna Carta, to making sure that Mount Vernon was restored, and creating a visitor center there, plus doing similar work with the Lincoln Memorial.
Washington Reporter:
Any final words of wisdom to impart?
Richard Hunt:
Put away your iPhone for several hours a day and observe and listen to people around you.
Washington Reporter:
Awesome, have a great Thanksgiving week.