Retail merchants’ motion to intervene in the challenge to the Illinois Interchange Fee Prohibition Act (IFPA) was denied Friday by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The IFPA would prohibit financial institutions from charging or receiving interchange fees in Illinois on the tax or gratuity portion of a card transaction. Merchants sought to intervene in support of the IFPA, but the court found they failed to represent how the Illinois Attorney General would not adequately represent merchant interests.

"We welcome today's court order denying the merchant groups’ request to join the litigation over the IFPA. These groups have already done enough damage to consumers and small businesses in the state by advancing this misguided law in the first place. This is a win for the Illinois economy and another step forward for our case against a very bad law,” said Illinois Credit Union League SVP Ashley Sharp and Illinois Bankers Association EVP Ben Jackson in a joint statement following the ruling.

The court issued an injunction against the IFPA in December, but it did not include credit unions in the relief. Instead, it requested additional information about the Federal Credit Union Act. America’s Credit Unions, the Illinois Credit Union League, and banking organizations filed a brief in January explaining why credit unions should be included in relief from the law. That decision is still pending.