Chase hiking fees on more services | Chicago Breaking Business #SwipeFees

Here are some examples of upcoming fee changes:

– An ATM and debit card withdrawal at a Chase ATM outside the United States, Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands will cost $5, up from $3. Certain account types, including Chase Premier Platinum Checking and Chase Workplace Checking, get a certain number free. Chase will also charge $1 to print recent account transactions at ATMs for most customers.

– Its overdraft protection transfer fee, charged when monies are moved from one Chase account to another to cover an overdrawn account, is rising from $10 a day to $12 . Fees are waived for two premier accounts, or if the account if overdrawn by $5 or less.

– If a customer deposits an item such as a check, and it’s not paid due to insufficient funds, the charge to the customer is rising to $12 from $10.

– Stopped payment requests for most accounts will rise to $34 from $32. For online or phone requests, the fee is increasing to $27 from $25.

– Outgoing domestic wire transfers for most customers will cost $30, up from $25. Online wire transfers for most customers will rise to $25 from $20.

More: Chase hiking fees on more services | Chicago Breaking Business.

Rewards Cards Lead to More Spending, Debt – WSJ.com #SwipeFees

Credit card companies have long enticed users with an array of rewards programs, from airplane miles to hotel rooms and cash back. In 2005, some six billion reward offers were mailed out by the industry, the Chicago Fed economists say. Even small rewards can prompt people to spend more. In many cases, rewards entice people whose cards were dormant to start spending, the study found. About 11% of those who hadnt use their credit cards in the previous three months made purchases of at least $50 in the first month of the program.

via Rewards Cards Lead to More Spending, Debt – WSJ.com.

OUR VIEW: Debit card rules needed | Standard-Examiner –

Not only does it put an unfair burden on merchants who allow debit card transactions, the fees also can impact the price of a product for consumers. Smaller stores are hit the hardest by the current fees; they are charged more by banks and card issuers than bigger businesses.

via OUR VIEW: Debit card rules needed | Standard-Examiner – Ogden, Layton, Brigham, Weber, Davis, Sports, Entertainment, Dining, Utah Jazz, Real Salt Lake, Ogden Raptors, Top of Utah News.

Retailers attack MasterCard, Visa model | StarTribune.com

Credit card swipe fees can range from less than 2 percent to as much as 5 percent, depending on the type of transaction, the merchant and the type of card. MasterCard’s most recent schedule of U.S. interchange fees covers 135 pages.

Some of the highest fees for merchants come with rewards cards, which have proven increasingly popular with consumers. Retailers who want to be part of Visa’s or MasterCard’s network can’t discriminate among cards; they must accept all of them

via Retailers attack MasterCard, Visa model | StarTribune.com.

Durbin turns attention to ‘abusive fees’ on prepaid debit cards

Prepaid debit cards, designed to function like checking accounts, have been faulted for charging consumers fees for activation, checking balances and other functions.

via Durbin turns attention to ‘abusive fees’ on prepaid debit cards.

BUSINESS TIPS: Who pays price for ‘reward’ credit cards? | #SwipeFees

What I had forgotten was that each swipe cost a flat rate, and the flat rate is called an interchange fee. According to The Nilson Report, U.S. merchants paid interchange fees of around $62 billion on sales of $3.7 trillion in 2009.

via BUSINESS TIPS: Who pays price for ‘reward’ credit cards? | Easy Credit Cards UK.

FRB: Federal Reserve Open Board Meeting, December 16, 2010 (video) #SwipeFees

Recording of the live webcast of the Federal Reserve’s December 16 open meeting on proposed rules governing debit card interchange fees and routing.

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The Merchants Payments Coalition

[via UnfairCreditCardFees.com]

Credit card interchange fees are an enormous – and growing – cost for merchants and consumers. The average American household pays hundreds of dollars a year in interchange fees, which are part of the cost of virtually every transaction they make. Why? Because interchange fees are hidden in the cost of nearly everything consumers buy. Nearly $2 of every $100 consumers spend using credit cards goes directly to Visa and MasterCard.

The Merchants Payments Coalition is fighting for a more competitive and transparent credit card fee system that better serves American consumers and merchants alike.

Mission Statement

The Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC) – UnfairCreditCardFees.com – is a group of retailers, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, fuel stations, on-line merchants and other businesses who are fighting against unfair credit card fees and fighting for a more competitive and transparent card system that works better for consumers and merchants alike. The coalition’s member associations collectively represent about 2.7 million stores with approximately 50 million employees.

Coalition Members

National and International Organizations

Food Marketing Institute

National Association of Convenience Stores

National Grocers Association

National Retail Federation

National Association of Chain Drug Stores

Retail Industry Leaders Association

National Restaurant Association

Petroleum Marketers Association of America

National Council of Chain Restaurants

National Association of College Stores

National Association of Truck Stop Operators

International Association of Airport Duty Free Stores

National Association of Theatre Owners

American Beverage Licensees

Bowling Proprietors Association of America

National Association of Shell Marketers

Interactive Travel Services Association

Society of American Florists

Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America

International Franchise Association

National Franchisee Association

Coalition of Franchisee Associations

National Small Business Association

Digital Media Association

Professional Beauty Association

State Organizations

Alabama Grocers Association

Petroleum & Convenience Marketers of Alabama 

Arizona Food Marketing Alliance

California Grocers Association

California Retailers Association

California Independent Grocers Association

Colorado Licensed Beverage Association 

Colorado Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association

Connecticut Retail Merchants Association

Independent Connecticut Petroleum Association

Delaware Food Industry Council

Florida Petroleum Marketers

Georgia Food Industry Association

Georgia Oilman’s Association, Inc.

Illinois Retail Merchants Association

Indiana Licensed Beverage Association

Indiana Retail Council

Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores of Iowa

Kansas Licensed Beverage Association

Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas

Kentucky Grocers Association and Kentucky Association of Convenience Stores

Louisiana Retailers Association

Maryland Retailers Association

Retailers Association of Massachusetts

Massachusetts Licensed Beverage Association

Michigan Grocers Association

Minnesota Grocers Association

Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association 

Retail Association of Mississippi

Ozark Empire Grocers Association

Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association

Montana Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association

Nebraska Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association

Nevada Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association

New England Convenience Store Association

Independent Oil Marketers Association of New England 

Retail Merchants Association of New Hampshire

New Hampshire Grocers Association

New Jersey Food Council

New Jersey Gasoline-C-Store-Automotive Association 

New Mexico Retail Association

Empire State Petroleum Association

Empire State Restaurant & Tavern Association 

The Food Industry Alliance of New York State

North Carolina Association of Convenience Stores

North Carolina Retail Merchants Association

North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association

North Dakota Retailers Association

Ohio Grocers Association

East Central Ohio Food Dealers Association

Cleveland Food Dealers Association

Oklahoma Petroleum & Convenience Store Association

Oregon Petroleum Association

Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association/Pennsylvania Convenience Store Council

Pennsylvania Retailers Assocation

Rhode Island Food Dealers Association

South Carolina Retail Association

South Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association

South Dakota Association of Convenience Stores

South Dakota Retailers Association

South Dakota Petroleum & Propane Marketers Association

Tennessee Grocers & Convenience Store Association

Tennessee Oil Marketers Association

Tennesee Retail Association

Texas Grocery & Convenience Association

Texas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association

Texas Retailers Association

Utah Food Industry Association

Utah Retail Merchants Association

Utah Petroleum Marketers & Retailers Association

Vermont Grocers’ Association

Virginia Petroleum, Convenience and Grocery Association

Washington Food Industry

Washington Oil Marketers Association

West Virginia Oil Marketers & Grocers Association

West Virginia Motor Truck Association

Tavern League of Wisconsin 

Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association

Wyoming Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Stores Association

Wyoming Retail Merchants Association

Wyoming State Liquor Association

Could MasterCard Fall Further On Fee Concerns? – – Forbes #SwipeFees

The Fed’s proposed limit on interchange fees will also impact assessment fee percentage and we factored in a drop in our analysis of assessment fee percentage of MasterCard. We estimate that there will be about 13-14% drop in assessment fee percentage moving forward.

via Could MasterCard Fall Further On Fee Concerns? – Great Speculations – Buys, holds, and hopes – Forbes.

Will the Fed’s Debit Fee Rule Help Merchants? – NYTimes.com

For one thing, consumers already pay the costs of using debit cards, which like all other expenses are embedded in prices, said Brian Dodge, a spokesman for the Retail Industry Leaders Association. “As swipe costs have gone up, prices have risen. When swipe costs come down, prices will follow,” he said by e-mail. “If the MasterCard claims were true, when swipe fees tripled over the past decade, bank fees would have fallen. Instead they exploded, too.”

via Will the Fed’s Debit Fee Rule Help Merchants? – NYTimes.com.

FRB: Press Release–Federal Reserve study shows more than three-quarters of noncash payments are now electronic–December 8, 2010

The Federal Reserve’s 2010 study of noncash payments released today revealed that in 2009 more than three-quarters of all U.S. noncash payments were made electronically, a 9.3 percent annual increase since the Federal Reserve’s last study in 2007. This growth and other statistics in the study emphasize consumers’ increasing adoption of electronic alternatives for payments in the United States. The 2007 study revealed that in 2006 roughly two-thirds of the payments were made electronically.

via FRB: Press Release–Federal Reserve study shows more than three-quarters of noncash payments are now electronic–December 8, 2010.

AmEx Falls as Credit-Card Fees May Be ‘Next Target’ – Bloomberg

“We are increasingly convinced that credit interchange will inevitably be the next target,” he wrote. “The now- significant disparity in payments’ costs greatly increase the risk.”

The Fed proposals were prompted by the Dodd-Frank regulatory-overhaul legislation, which President Barack Obama signed in July. The measure calls for the Fed to set interchange fees that are “reasonable and proportional” to the cost of processing debit transactions.

via AmEx Falls as Credit-Card Fees May Be ‘Next Target’ – Bloomberg.

States, Feds Amend Credit Card Company Suit

Vermont’s new credit card law

Under the new law, credit card companies must allow merchants to offer discounts and incentives based on the customer’s form of payment. For example, a merchant will be able to offer a three percent discount if the customer pays in cash. The companies also must allow merchants to accept certain cards at some locations and not others, and to impose a credit card minimum of $10 if it is clearly disclosed to consumers.

via States, Feds Amend Credit Card Company Suit.

Transaction and International Fees Are 60% of MasterCard’s Value – NASDAQ.com

MasterCards fees are broken down into three buckets: (i) Transaction Fees (ii) International Fees and (iii) Assessment Fees, and these account for around 79% of the stock value. The Fed’s recent announcements regarding caps on the interchange fee would reduce the Assessment Fees, which we discussed last week in an article ( Could MasterCard’s Stock Fall Further from Fee Limits? ) and concluded that the bad news was largely priced in. This segment accounts for 20% of the stock value.

via Transaction and International Fees Are 60% of MasterCard’s Value – NASDAQ.com.

How Consumers Could Benefit from Debit Fee Limits – NYTimes.com

For one thing, consumers already pay the costs of using debit cards, which like all other expenses are embedded in prices, said Brian Dodge, a spokesman for the Retail Industry Leaders Association. “As swipe costs have gone up, prices have risen. When swipe costs come down, prices will follow,” he said, by e-mail. “If the MasterCard claims were true, when swipe fees tripled over the past decade, bank fees would have fallen. Instead they exploded, too.”

via How Consumers Could Benefit from Debit Fee Limits – NYTimes.com.

Attorney General Madigan Joins Antitrust Lawsuit Alleging Credit Card Retailer Rules Prevent Competition

The lawsuits allege that these restrictions on retailers unreasonably restrain competition among credit card companies, in violation of federal antitrust laws. Specifically, the lawsuits allege that without these restrictions, retailers would be free to express their preference for credit cards that charge lower fees or for other methods of payments. Retailers could do this, for example, by offering discounts on purchases to consumers who use credit cards with lower fees or other methods of payments, such as cash. Allowing retailers to do this would foster competition among credit card companies by encouraging them to lower fees.

via Attorney General Madigan Joins Antitrust Lawsuit Alleging Credit Card Retailer Rules Prevent Competition.

Debit Card Interchange Fees: Friend or Foe? | MintLife Blog | #SwipeFees

Capitalism isn’t dead yet. Retailers in a competitive market would love to keep big sacks of extra profits, but they can’t—not unless they want to go out of business. “Think of a retailer that sells children’s clothing,” says Ip. “As a result of this ruling, perhaps the retailer’s profit margin goes up by 50 cents. Now, if he was the only retailer who benefited from that, he would be able to keep that 50 cents. But down the hall is another retailer who sells children’s clothing who just caught the same benefit. And they’re going to keep an eye on each other.” No market is perfectly competitive, Ip cautioned, but we’re talking about American retail here.

via Debit Card Interchange Fees: Friend or Foe? | MintLife Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice.

The New Debit Card Rules #SwipeFees

Goddard joins Visa, MasterCard antitrust settlement – KGUN9 On Your Side, Tucson News, Weather & Sports

“Under the terms of the decree, Visa and MasterCard have agreed to amend their rules to now allow merchants to offer discounts, incentives and information to consumers to encourage them to use less costly methods of payment, including cash, check, debit, or lower cost credit cards.

via Goddard joins Visa, MasterCard antitrust settlement – KGUN9 On Your Side, Tucson News, Weather & Sports.

Could MasterCard Fall Further On Fee Concerns? – Great Speculations – Buys, holds, and hopes – Forbes

Though the proposal would impact major banks that issue debit cards to their customers, most of these banks have diversified operations and so debit card transaction revenues form a small portion of the total bank’s business. The banks might also pass on some of their lost revenues by reducing what they pay to the card networks such as MasterCard

via Could MasterCard Fall Further On Fee Concerns? – Great Speculations – Buys, holds, and hopes – Forbes.

Bloomberg: Durbin Says More Disclosure Needed on Credit Card Fees #SwipeFees

Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) — U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, discusses proposed rules by the Federal Reserve that could cut debit-card transaction fees by 90 percent. Durbin, speaking with Peter Cook in Washington on Bloomberg Television’s “InBusiness,” also discusses Congress’s decision to pass an $858 billion bill that extends for two years all the Bush-era tax cuts. (Source: Bloomberg)

FoxNews: proposed regulations by the Fed that would limit fees for debit card use

FoxBusinessNetwork
Small retailers and consumer groups are cheering proposed regulations by the Fed that would limit fees for debit card use

Fed #swipefees plan for debit cards could help small biz – CNN

The Fed proposal stands to put more money back into the hands of small-businesses owners – the folks who are out there trying to stay afloat and hire new employees,” said Kyle W. Kempf, Senior Director of Government Affairs at the National Small Business Association, in an e-mail.

via Fed swipe fees plan for debit cards could help small biz – Dec. 17, 2010.

All About Work & Financial: Visa, MasterCard May Be Damaged by Fed’s Proposal to Slash Debit-Card Fees

Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. may face permanent damage to the fastest-growing part of their business after the Federal Reserve proposed rules that could cut debit-card transaction fees by 84 percent.

via All About Work & Financial: Visa, MasterCard May Be Damaged by Fed’s Proposal to Slash Debit-Card Fees.

Examining Credit Card Fees | Student Credit Card Articles

There are many credit card promotions that offer really low interest rates, and they are in fact quite tempting. Many times we think about going for those plans but are they really worth the temptation? If you be careful and read the fine print, there are strong chances that you will be shocked with hidden fees charged by the credit card companies

via Examining Credit Card Fees | Student Credit Card Articles.

What are credit card interchange fees?

Contrary to popular belief, Visa and MasterCard don’t issue credit cards; they run the networks that process transactions made using those cards. If it was the cellphone universe, think of the companies as operators of the phone lines and networks over which calls are made.

via What are credit card interchange fees?.

U.S. Democrats target prepaid debit card #swipefees | Reuters

On Friday, a group of Senate Democrats introduced legislation that would limit the types of fees that could be charged on prepaid cards.

via UPDATE 1-U.S. Democrats target prepaid debit card fees | Reuters.

Bank of America says cuts off WikiLeaks – Business – msnbc.com

Bank of America was quoted as saying late on Friday that it was joining other financial institutions in declining to process payments to WikiLeaks, which has angered U.S. authorities with the mass release of U.S. diplomatic cables

via Bank of America says cuts off WikiLeaks – Business – msnbc.com.

NRA Praises Federal Reserve for Progress Toward Cutting Interchange Fees

[via press release]

Washington, D.C. – The National Restaurant Association reacted to the Federal Reserve’s proposed rule today regarding debit card interchange fees.
 
“Today’s proposed rules from the Federal Reserve demonstrate progress toward creating a more balanced debit card transaction fee process,” said Dawn Sweeney, National Restaurant Association President and CEO. “The rules reflect the intent of Congress, which was to create a fairer system and protect consumers and businesses from these hidden fees.
 
“Making the transaction fee process more transparent and lowering interchange fees will bring real savings to businesses, which can then be passed along to consumers,” said Sweeney. “Merchants pay about $48 billion in interchange fees every year. For restaurants, interchange fees are often the third greatest operating expense, behind labor and food costs. The National Restaurant Association will continue to work to ensure the final rules bring fairness, transparency, and reasonable costs for processing transactions for restaurants and other merchants.”
 
“The direction of the proposed rule from the Fed today is very positive for consumers and restaurants, and seems to recognize a core principle that a reasonable cost of transaction can be made through a per transaction limit, rather than a percentage of the bill,” said Scott DeFife, Executive Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs for the Association. “This change should allow consumers to see real savings when they dine out and use debit cards.”
 
Following today’s announcement, there will now be a 60-day comment period on the proposed rules. The rules are to be finalized by April 21 and implemented by July 21.
 
The National Restaurant Association is a member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, a group of retailers, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, fuel stations, on-line merchants and other businesses who are fighting against unfair debit and credit card fees. The coalition’s member associations collectively represent about 2.7 million stores with approximately 50 million employees.

Dodd-Frank financial-reform law contained an amendment sponsored by Sen. Dick Durbin that pushed back against debit #swipefees in two ways.

Durbin Statement On His Debit Card Swipe Fee Amendment

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Press Release (repost)

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) issued the following statement after the Senate approved his amendment to help reduce the swipe fees that small businesses pay on every credit and debit card sale by a bipartisan vote of 64-33:

“Wall Street reform is really about two things:  holding the big banks accountable for how they operate and empowering consumers to make good financial choices. Passage of this amendment is a win for the public on both fronts. 

Passage of this measure gives small businesses and their customers a real chance in the fight against the outrageously high “swipe fees” charged by Visa and MasterCard.  It will prevent the giant credit card companies from using anti-competitive practices, allow merchants to offer discounts to their customers and restore common sense and fairness to this broken system.  

By requiring debit card fees to be reasonable, and by cleaning up Visa’s and MasterCard’s worst abuses, small businesses and their customers will be able to keep more of their own money. Making sure small businesses can grow and prosper is vital to putting our country back on solid economic footing.” 

Swipe fees are supposedly charged by Visa and MasterCard in order to cover the cost of processing a credit or debit card transaction.   However, Visa and MasterCard continue to raise swipe fees even though processing costs have decreased.   High swipe fees are yet another way that banks and credit card companies hurt small businesses by charging fees that cut into already tight profit margins.

An estimated $48 billion in swipe fees were charged by credit and debit card networks in 2008 – this money came out of the bottom line of small businesses and merchants across America, and 80 percent of this money went to just ten large banks. 

Additional information about the Durbin amendment is attached.

 

 

To Help Small Businesses by Ensuring that Debit Card Interchange Fees Are Reasonable

 

  What the Durbin Amendment does:

·         The Durbin amendment would direct the Fed to issue rules to ensure that debit interchange fees are reasonable and proportional to the processing costs incurred.  Visa and MasterCard currently charge debit interchange fees of around 1-2% of the transaction amount.  These fees are far higher than the actual cost of processing debit transactions, and they mean that small businesses and merchants always get shortchanged when they accept a debit card for a sale. 
 

·         The Durbin amendment also prevents card networks like Visa and MasterCard from penalizing sellers for offering discounts to customers.  The amendment would allow sellers to offer discounts for customers to use competing card networks and for customers to pay by cash, check or debit card.  The amendment would also allow sellers to choose to decline credit cards for small dollar purchases (because interchange fees often exceed profits on such sales). 

Why the Durbin Amendment is needed:

·         The Durbin amendment is a response to interchange price-fixing by Visa and MasterCard.  Interchange fees are received by the card-issuing bank in a debit transaction.  However, Visa and MasterCard, which control 80% of the debit market, set the debit interchange fee rates that apply to all banks within their networks.  Every bank gets the same interchange fee rate, regardless of how efficiently a bank conducts debit transactions.  Visa and MasterCard do not allow banks to compete with one another or negotiate with merchants over interchange rates, and there is no constraint on Visa and MasterCard’s ability to fix the rates at unreasonable levels.  Visa and MasterCard constantly raise interchange rates because the more interchange the banks receive, the more the banks will issue cards.  Visa and MasterCard receive a fee each time a card is swiped, so rising interchange rates enrich them too.
 

·         Visa and MasterCard have reduced debit interchange rates in other countries while increasing them in the U.S.  While Visa and MasterCard continue to raise U.S. interchange rates (which are already the world’s highest), GAO found that “regulators in other countries have worked with Visa and MasterCard to voluntarily reduce their interchange rates.”  Just last month, Visa lowered many European debit rates by 60% while increasing many U.S. debit rates by 30%.

What the Durbin Amendment DOES NOT do:

·         The Durbin amendment does not affect credit card interchange fees.  Some have argued that the Durbin amendment would reduce credit availability by regulating credit card interchange rates.  However, the amendment’s reasonable fee requirement only applies to debit cards. 
 

·         The Durbin reasonable debit fee requirement exempts banks and credit unions with assets under $10 billion (this includes 99% of all banks and credit unions).  Under the Durbin amendment, the requirement that debit fees be reasonable does not apply to debit cards issued by institutions with assets under $10 billion.  This means that Visa and MasterCard can continue to set the same debit interchange rates that they do today for small banks and credit unions.  Those institutions would not lose any interchange revenue that they currently receive. 

·         The Durbin amendment would not enable merchants to discriminate against debit cards issued by small banks and credit unions. Visa and MasterCard contractually require merchants to accept all cards within their networks, and the amendment does not change that requirement. 

·         The Durbin amendment would not have the Federal Reserve set interchange prices.  Under the Durbin amendment the Fed would not set debit interchange prices.  Instead the Fed would oversee the debit interchange fees set by card networks to ensure that they are “reasonable and proportional” to cost.  This is the same “reasonable and proportional” standard that Congress directed the Fed to use to oversee consumer credit card fees in the 2009 Credit CARD Act.

 

Support Durbin Amendment #3989

The Fed enters the skirmish over debit card fees. – By Timothy Noah – Slate Magazine

Debit cards did not catch on in the U.S. as quickly as they did in other industrialized nations. In a 1998 law review article, David Balto (then a staff aide at the Federal Trade Commission, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress) suggested this was partly because U.S. banks didn’t want to “cannibalize their lucrative credit card programs.” Visa and Master Card finessed the problem by promoting use of a different kind of debit card that had some characteristics of credit cards: the “offline” debit card.

via The Fed enters the skirmish over debit card fees. – By Timothy Noah – Slate Magazine.

UnFairCreditCardFees.com Media Resource Guide #SwipeFees

[via UnfairCreditCardfees.com]

Fast Facts

About the Merchants Payments Coalition

Credit Card Interchange Fees

Facts About Hidden Fees

Facts About Full Disclosure

Facts About Price Fixing

Fact is People are Talking

Frequently Asked Questions

Credit Card Interchange Fees: Issues and Answers
A Report to the House Judiciary Committee Antitrust Task Force Prepared by the Merchants Payments Coalition, Inc.
September 14, 2007

Interchange Charts:

• Estimated Components of Interchange, Diamond Management & Technology Consultants
• Example of a Typical Credit Card Transaction Showing How Interchange Fees Paid by Merchants are Allocated, General Accounting Office
• International Interchange Rates, Transaction Resources
• Interchange Legislation in the States (2008)

Press Releases

View all press releases >>

• Dec 16 2010– Small Businesses Applauds Federal Reserve for Pro-Consumer and Merchant Swipe Fee Proposal
• Dec 16 2010– Federal Reserve Proposed Rule – Background Information
• Dec 16 2010– Swipe fee reform around the world: consumers win

Advertising Campaigns

View all advertising campaigns >>

• “Ripped Off” Video
• We are the real Main Street
• Rebuttal Ad

Research

View all research >>

Cutting edge research reports that shine more light on how interchange fee dollars are spent and the fee, policies and practices of the banks and credit card companies.

• Credit Cards: Increased Complexity in Rates and Fees Heightens Need for more Effective Disclosures to Consumers, General Accounting Office, September 2006

Recent Articles and Interviews

View all Recent Articles and Interviews >>

Interviews

Bloomberg Interview with Stephen Cannon, Witness for the Merchants Payments Coalition debating Timothy J. Muris, Counsel, O’Melvney and Myers and Former Chairman, Federal Trade Commission. Watch Interview >>

CNBC Interview with Mallory Duncan, Chairman of the Merchants Payments Coalition and Rhonda Bentz, Vice President, Visa USA. Watch Interview >>

Recent Articles: Interchange in the News

Leave It to the WSJ Op-Ed Page…, Columbia Journalism Review, 10/26/10

Cash or credit? Government’s action may ensure real option, Herald Tribune, 10/13/10

Daily Payments News Archives

View the news archive >>

Wikileaks against Visa, Mastercard and Iceland may ban credit cards (via YouTube link)

Merchants mount attack on rising credit card fees – The Globe and Mail

Visa and MasterCard, which control more than 90 per cent of the Canadian credit card market, plan to fight the bureau. They also argue merchants should be upfront with consumers about all their existing options to reduce merchant fees. For instance, retailers can offer a discount to customers who pay with cash, cheque or debit.

via Merchants mount attack on rising credit card fees – The Globe and Mail.

Fed proposes rules to slash debit card ‘swipe’ fees | Money & Company | Los Angeles Times

The Federal Reserve on Thursday proposed rules that could sharply limit the fees that banks charge retailers for debit card transactions.  The rules would carry out the orders Congress issued to the Fed in the landmark financial-reform law passed this year. The legislation requires that the central bank come up with a plan to assure that so-called swipe fees for debit cards are “reasonable,” addressing an issue that has long been a sore point with retailers.  Either of two Fed proposals would cap the swipe fee at 12 cents per transaction — far below what banks now charge retailers.

via Fed proposes rules to slash debit card ‘swipe’ fees | Money & Company | Los Angeles Times.

HEARD ON THE STREET: Red Card for Debit Fees – WSJ.com

The Federal Reserve dropped a bombshell on Visa and MasterCard, proposing that interchange fees for debit-card transactions be capped at 12 cents. But the market’s fast and furious reaction, shares in both companies each plunged more than 10%, may prove too harsh.

via HEARD ON THE STREET: Red Card for Debit Fees – WSJ.com.

Fed Proposes Rules to Cut Debit Card Fees – NYTimes.com Via Eric Dash [#swipefees]

The Federal Reserve, fulfilling a Congressional order to examine whether merchants were being charged reasonable fees to process debit card transactions, proposed new rules on Thursday that analysts said could cut those fees by as much as 90 percent.

via Fed Proposes Rules to Cut Debit Card Fees – NYTimes.com.

Federal Reserve Board Press Release: Proposed Rule That Would Establish Debit Card Interchange Fee Standards [#SwipeFees]

Press Release

 

Release Date: December 16, 2010

For immediate release

The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday requested comment on a proposed rule that would establish debit card interchange fee standards and prohibit network exclusivity arrangements and routing restrictions.

The Board’s proposal would implement the debit card interchange fee and routing provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Debit card interchange fees are established by payment card networks and paid by merchants to card issuers for each transaction.

The proposed new Regulation II, Debit-Card Interchange Fees and Routing, would establish standards for determining whether a debit card interchange fee received by a card issuer is reasonable and proportional to the cost incurred by the issuer for the transaction. These standards would apply to issuers that, together with their affiliates, have assets of $10 billion or more. Certain government-administered payment programs and reloadable general-use prepaid cards would be exempt from the interchange fee limitations.

The Board is requesting comment on two alternative interchange fee standards that would apply to all covered issuers: one based on each issuer’s costs, with a safe harbor (initially set at 7 cents per transaction) and a cap (initially set at 12 cents per transaction); and the other a stand-alone cap (initially set at 12 cents per transaction). Under both alternatives, circumvention or evasion of the interchange fee limitations would be prohibited. The Board also is requesting comment on possible frameworks for an adjustment to the interchange fees to reflect certain issuer costs associated with fraud prevention.

If the Board adopts either of these proposed standards in the final rule, the maximum allowable interchange fee received by covered issuers for debit card transactions would be more than 70 percent lower than the 2009 average, once the new rule takes effect on July 21, 2011.

The proposed rule would also prohibit all issuers and networks from restricting the number of networks over which debit card transactions may be processed. The Board is requesting comment on two alternative approaches: one alternative would require at least two unaffiliated networks per debit card, and the other would require at least two unaffiliated networks per debit card for each type of cardholder authorization method (such as signature or PIN). Under both alternatives, the issuers and networks would be prohibited from inhibiting a merchant’s ability to direct the routing of debit card transactions over any network that the issuer enabled to process them.

According to the recently released 2010 Federal Reserve payment study, debit card use in the United States now exceeds all other forms of noncash payments and, by number of payments, represents approximately 35 percent of total noncash payments.

Comments on the proposal are due by February 22, 2011.

Federal Register notice: 636 KB PDF

Statement by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke

Statement by Vice Chair Janet L. Yellen

2010 Banking and Consumer Regulatory Policy

 

Repeat:Fed Proposes 12-Cent Safe Harbor for Debit Card Trans | iMarketNews.com

In a decision that promises to tilt the balance of profits toward merchants and fulfill the fears of big-bank and credit card company shareholders, the Federal Reserve Thursday voted without any objections to propose a drastic cut in fees for bank debit card transactions.

Fed staff recommended for Board approval proposals that centered on 12-cent per transaction caps on such transactions, ruling out the trend toward marking up the debit card service to whatever the market will bear. The proposed fee cap was far more restrictive than expected. The Fed is asking for comments on some alternatives within the proposal being published in the Federal Register.

via Repeat:Fed Proposes 12-Cent Safe Harbor for Debit Card Trans | iMarketNews.com.

EU bank law would ban direct debit fees from 2012 | Reuters

Bank charges on direct debit transactions would be banned from 2012 under a draft European law that targets France, Italy and Spain as part of efforts to cut the cost of paying bills for consumers and businesses.

via UPDATE 1-EU bank law would ban direct debit fees from 2012 | Reuters.

Push made to end restrictive credit-card rules for merchants

The Competition Bureau has filed an application to strike down restrictive and anti-competitive rules it says Visa and MasterCard are imposing on merchants who accept their credit cards. The bureau alleges that credit card companies have instituted rules that stop merchants from encouraging consumers to consider lower-cost payment options such as cash or debit.

via Push made to end restrictive credit-card rules for merchants.

Watchdog targets ‘hidden’ credit card fees

C anada’s Competition Bureau is flexing new civil powers by accusing credit card powerhouses Visa and MasterCard of anti-competitive behaviour it alleges costs merchants and consumers an e-stimated $5-billion annually in hid den card fees.

via Watchdog targets ‘hidden’ credit card fees.

RPT-PREVIEW-U.S. banks brace for Fed’s debit fee crackdown | Reuters #swipefees

Banks and transaction processors Visa Inc (V.N) and MasterCard Inc (MA.N) collect the fees from retailers every time a customer buys something with a debit card.

The Fed has provided little indication of how it plans to restrict interchange fees, and banks and networks say they are uncertain about what to expect

via RPT-PREVIEW-U.S. banks brace for Fed’s debit fee crackdown | Reuters.

Canada Competition Bureau Challenges Visa, MasterCard – BusinessWeek #SwipeFees

Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc. use “anti-competitive” rules to prevent merchants in Canada from encouraging shoppers to use cheaper payment options such as cash or debit, Canada’s competition watchdog said.

via Canada Competition Bureau Challenges Visa, MasterCard – BusinessWeek.

PREVIEW-U.S. banks brace for Fed’s debit fee crackdown | Reuters

PHILADELPHIA, Dec 14 (Reuters) – U.S. banks could lose billions of dollars of annual revenue as new regulations cut into debit card fees, and lenders will likely be fighting regulators for years for the right to charge new fees to make up for lost profit.

via PREVIEW-U.S. banks brace for Fed’s debit fee crackdown | Reuters.

Fed Could Cut Signature Debit Interchange up to 60%, Goldman Clients Say (via Digital Transactions)

Excerpt

“Financial-industry clients of Goldman Sachs & Co. are bracing for cuts of 40% to 60% in signature debit card interchange rates when the Federal Reserve Board releases its draft regulations for the controversial fee, possibly as soon as Thursday. Many of the investment-banking firm’s clients also expect the Fed to take an expansive view of a new law’s ban on exclusive agreements between debit card issuers and payment networks”

Read article

On Thursday the Federal Reserve will unveil a proposed rule to limit debit card #swipefees

This Thursday, December 16, the Federal Reserve is unveiling a proposed rule to limit swipe fees on debit cards. The meeting will be available during a live webcast beginning at 2:30 pm EST.

To register to view the meeting live, click here.

NACS will provide a full analysis of the Feds’ draft regulations. 

As reported in Friday’s “Washington Report,” The debit rulemaking was authorized as part of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Financial Protection Act, which requires that the Federal Reserve write standards to ensure that debit card swipe fees charged by the megabanks — those in excess of $10 billion in assets — be “reasonable and proportional” to the actual cost to process a transaction

[via NACSOnline]

Credit Card Industry Continues to Fight Interchange #SwipeFees Reform

With the Federal Reserve Bank scheduled to meet this week to consider new regulations governing how interchange fees for debit transactions are set, 13 US Senators signed a letter urging restraint and for the Fed to take their timeEnacted as part of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, interchange fees the so-called Durbin amendment will be considered at a December 16 board meeting. It is expected a draft proposal of the new debit fee regulations will be released at that time.

via NACSOnline Credit Card Industry Continues to Fight Interchange Reform.

Small Swedish firm keeps channeling funds to WikiLeaks | Reuters

While major payment providers MasterCard, Visa and PayPal have stopped transfers to WikiLeaks, a small company with a base in south Sweden said on Thursday it would carry on as a lone channel for donations.

via Small Swedish firm keeps channeling funds to WikiLeaks | Reuters.

Regulators Accept Visa Europe’s Promise of Big Debit Interchange Cuts via Digital Transactions

Ominous or joyous interchange news, depending on your perspective, just rolled in from Europe. The European Commission, the antitrust authority in European Union nations, on Dec. 8 accepted Visa Europe’s proposal to reduce debit card interchange by up to 60% in nine countries.

via .http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/2830

2nd UPDATE: EU Accepts Visa Europe Fee Cuts, Drops Part Of Probe – WSJ.com

The European Commission Wednesday closed part of an antitrust probe into credit card company Visa Europe, accepting the firm’s proposal to cut certain fees imposed on debit card transactions.

via 2nd UPDATE: EU Accepts Visa Europe Fee Cuts, Drops Part Of Probe – WSJ.com.

Federal Reserve Said to Consider Interchange-Fee Cap – Bloomberg

The Federal Reserve Board will meet Dec. 16 to weigh a proposed cap of debit-card transaction fees that could cut card-issuer profits and benefit retailers, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

via Federal Reserve Said to Consider Interchange-Fee Cap – Bloomberg.

Mitch Goldstone at WayTooHigh.com (ScanMyPhotos.com) Asks Kim Kardasian to help end unfair, excessive credit card fees #swipefees

Today, Atlantapost.com wrote that Mitch Goldstone, president and CEO of ScanMyPhotos.com has called for Kim Kardasian and her terminated “Kim Kard” prepaid MasterCard to use the lesson learned to demand an end to all unfair credit and debit card fees from MasterCard and Visa.

http://atlantapost.com/2010/12/01/kardashian-kard-shut-down-under-pressure/

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