Capitol Account: OCC Lands in the Center of the Swipe Fee Wars
“The OCC has a long history of being wrong on national bank preemption,” says Doug Kantor, (MPC Executive Committee member and) general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores, which backs the interchange limits. In fact, he pointed out that Congress in the Dodd-Frank Act enacted several provisions designed to rein in the agency. "There seems to be an institutional problem at the OCC where they act more like an advocate for the banking industry than like the regulator,” Kantor opines.
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Capitol Forum: White House and Senate Headed Towards Swipe Fee Showdown
"If we don't have clarity from the 7th Circuit and July 1st hits, then there's a question for the enforcement authorities in Illinois. Do they take action? Obviously, whoever they take action against would challenge it," said Doug Kantor, vice president and general counsel of the National Association of Convenience Stores (and MPC Executive Committee member). "Hopefully, the 7th Circuit will give everybody clarity. That would be great."
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American Banker: Bitcoin's Overton window of opportunity is closing
Colorado would join Illinois in taking this stand against swipe fees on taxes. And the groups that are supporting this movement don't seem content with just two noncontiguous states. "Other states should take notice," said Doug Kantor, who is on the executive committee of the Merchants Payments Coalition and is general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores.
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Law360: OCC Rules Spur 7th Circ. Remand In Ill. Swipe-Fee Fight
A top official with the Merchants Payments Coalition said his organization is "pleased" Judge Kendall will now “have another chance to tell the OCC they are wrong.” "The OCC's approach of writing a regulation to overturn this law is just a desperate move to try to avoid the courts deciding this issue and it's not going to work," Doug Kantor, the coalition's executive committee member, said. "They have gone to extreme lengths to try to avoid having the court decide this in the normal course of business. Unfortunately, the OCC sees itself as an advocate for the banks rather than a regulator charged with protecting consumers, and that's a problem."
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Merchants Welcome Passage of Colorado Bill to Ban Swipe Fees on Sales Tax
MPC welcomed passage of legislation that would ban credit and debit card swipe fees on sales tax in Colorado and called on Gov. Jared Polis to sign the measure into law as soon as possible.
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MPC Hill Blast: Lower Swipe Fees, Consumers Save
A new Harvard Business School working paper says "Lower interchange fees lead to increased sales and lower prices.”
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Daily Toll of Credit Card ‘Swipe’ Fees on Gas and Diesel Tops $60 Million
The amount big banks and card networks may collect in credit card “swipe” fees on gasoline and diesel has now reached as much as $60 million a day, MPC said.
READ MORE +MPC Hill Blast: Fuel Price/Swipe Fee Tracker
Credit card swipe fees currently amount to 10.5 cents on the average gallon of gas and 13.3 cents on the average gallon of diesel, costing American consumers $60.9 million per day.
READ MORE +MPC Hill Blast: $9.2 Billion
A new Harvard Business School paper says credit card swipe fees and rewards transfer $9.2 billion a year from low- and middle-income households to wealthier households.
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Visa Joins Banks in Seeing ‘Swipe’ Fee Windfall as Fuel Prices Increase
New financial results reported by Visa show the credit card network is seeing a huge increase in profits fueled partly by “swipe” fees on gasoline and diesel prices, MPC said. Visa reported that net profits for the quarter ending March 31 were up 32% year over year, totaling $6 billion on revenue of $11.2 billion.
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