Interchange Fees Forum

From: Digitial Transactions

Small debit card issuers are bracing for an eventual loss of 73% of their interchange revenues despite being exempt from pending interchange regulations under the Dodd-Frank financial-reform law’s so-called Durbin Amendment. That’s one of the more notable findings from the Pulse electronic funds transfer network’s 2011 Debit Issuer Study released Tuesday.

Research firm Oliver Wyman surveyed 50 banks and credit unions of all sizes for the annual debit study commissioned by Houston-based Pulse, a subsidiary of Discover Financial Services. The study included a number of questions about the highly controversial Durbin Amendment. Pulse released its Durbin findings ahead of the rest of the survey, which it plans to release next month.

Posted: Apr. 20, 2011 

A fee that most consumers never knew existed is expected to cause Congress to fracture along nonparty lines when the nation’s lawmakers return from recess May 2.

From: Concord Monitor

By Jeff Savage / For the Monitor

April 12, 2011

Americans have great choices for making payments at our retail checkout lines. We used to be limited to simply cash, credit or checks. But more and more of us have switched to debit cards, recognizing their convenience. Unfortunately, last year Washington lawmakers created a problem which will harm the debit card system and potentially every one of us who uses debit cards.

From: Huffington Post

Bill Cheney, CEO, Credit Union National Association

It’s easy and popular to demonize the big banks of Wall Street. In many cases, they deserve it. But the attempt by retailers, big and small, to cast the current political battle over debit card interchange as a fight between Wall Street and Main Street (with merchants, of course, claiming the Main Street mantle), is grossly inaccurate and misleading.