PYMNTS: Fed Proposes Slashing Debit Interchange Fees by 30%, to Review Caps Every Two Years
In the wake of the hearing, and in comments provided via email to PYMNTS, various stakeholders began to weigh in on Wednesday. In one example, the Merchants Payment Coalition said that the proposed reduction in fees does not go “far enough,” though they represent “a step in the right direction.” There’s a bit of debate as to what happens with the fees that would be saved from the caps and other changes to the debit system. The MPC noted in its release that routing rules that let merchants choose their networks saved an estimated $9 billion a year, and cited studies showing about 70% of the savings has been shared with consumers.
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Credit Union Times: Feds Propose Reducing Debit Card Interchange Fee
Merchant Payments Coalition Executive Committee Member and National Association of Convenience Stores General Counsel Doug Kantor said in a statement, “Banks have been charging more than five times their costs for debit card transactions and the Fed is finally saying that’s too much. This is a step in the right direction toward the real, competitive market that Congress wanted to see but still leaves the fees too high. Merchants and the consumers who ultimately pay these fees have been overcharged for far too long, so we need to get this right.”
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Gifts and Decorative Accessories: Fed Proposes to 'Significantly' Reduce Swipe Fee Cap But Number is Still Too High
The Merchants Payments Coalition agrees that the proposal falls short, saying in a release: “[It] doesn’t go far enough.”
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Cape Gazette: Grocers Compete, Why Can't Credit Card Companies?
They are most merchants’ highest operating cost after labor and drive up prices by more than $1,000 per year for the average family, according to the Merchants Payments Coalition.
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American Banker: The Credit Card Competition Act is the Right Answer to Fix a Broken Market
Op-ed by MPC Executive Committee member and NACS General Counsel says an earlier op-ed by an opponent of the Credit Card Competition Act "got all of the answers wrong."
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Main Street Matters Podcast: Talking NACS with Doug Kantor
MPC Executive Committee member and NACS General Counsel Doug Kantor: "The fees are huge."
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Green Sheet: MPC Welcomes Fed Review of Debit Card Fee Cap
The Merchants Payments Coalition welcomed today’s announcement that the Federal Reserve Board of Governors will meet next week to consider revising its 12-year-old regulation on debit card swipe fees.
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Convenience Store News: Retailers Optimistic as Federal Reserve Signals Change to Debit Card Swipe Fees
"Debit cards are an electronic version of checks that have saved banks billions compared with handling paper checks, but swipe fees make them much more expensive for merchants and drive up prices for consumers," said Doug Kantor, NACS general counsel and Merchants Payment Coalition executive committee member.
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Digital Transactions: The Federal Reserve is Set to Revisit the Debit Fee Cap
Merchants argue the actual cost of a debit card transaction has fallen by more than 50% since the cap was implemented. The limit should be lowered proportionally, merchant groups say. “Debit card swipe fees are way out of proportion and need to be adjusted downward, as all the data shows the cost of a debit transaction is tiny compared to the swipe fee. That needs to change,” says Doug Kantor, an executive committee member at the Merchants Payments Coalition and an executive committee member and general counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores.
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NACS Daily: Fed to Consider Revising Debit Card Swipe Fees
Doug Kantor, NACS general counsel and Merchants Payment Coalition executive committee member: “The Fed tried to address high debit card fees over a decade ago but didn’t go far enough, and banks’ costs have continued to fall while fees have stayed the same. It’s time for the Fed to update how much banks are allowed to charge and recognize that consumers, merchants and the economy can’t afford overinflated fees.”
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