124 STAT. 2072 PUBLIC LAW 111–203—JULY 21, 2010 ‘‘(9) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This subsection shall take effect at the end of the 12-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010. ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON PAYMENT CARD NETWORK RESTRICTIONS.— ‘‘(1) PROHIBITIONS AGAINST EXCLUSIVITY ARRANGEMENTS.— ‘‘(A) NO EXCLUSIVE NETWORK.—The Board shall, before the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, prescribe regulations providing that an issuer or payment card network shall not directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed member of a payment card network, by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, or otherwise, restrict the number of payment card networks on which an electronic debit transaction may be processed to— ‘‘(i) 1 such network; or ‘‘(ii) 2 or more such networks which are owned, controlled, or otherwise operated by — ‘‘(I) affiliated persons; or ‘‘(II) networks affiliated with such issuer. ‘‘(B) NO ROUTING RESTRICTIONS.—The Board shall, before the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010, prescribe regulations providing that an issuer or payment card network shall not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed member of the network, by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, or otherwise, inhibit the ability of any person who accepts debit cards for payments to direct the routing of electronic debit trans- actions for processing over any payment card network that may process such transactions. ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON RESTRICTIONS ON OFFERING DISCOUNTS FOR USE OF A FORM OF PAYMENT.— ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A payment card network shall not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed member of the network, by contract, requirement, condi- tion, penalty, or otherwise, inhibit the ability of any person to provide a discount or in-kind incentive for payment by the use of cash, checks, debit cards, or credit cards to the extent that— ‘‘(i) in the case of a discount or in-kind incentive for payment by the use of debit cards, the discount or in-kind incentive does not differentiate on the basis of the issuer or the payment card network; ‘‘(ii) in the case of a discount or in-kind incentive for payment by the use of credit cards, the discount or in-kind incentive does not differentiate on the basis of the issuer or the payment card network; and ‘‘(iii) to the extent required by Federal law and applicable State law, such discount or in-kind incentive is offered to all prospective buyers and disclosed clearly and conspicuously. ‘‘(B) LAWFUL DISCOUNTS.—For purposes of this para- graph, the network may not penalize any person for the providing of a discount that is in compliance with Federal law and applicable State law. Deadlines.
