Mar
31
From: Digital Transactions
Overwhelmed by the volume of comments it received, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Tuesday said in letters to Congress the Fed would miss Congress’s April 21 deadline to have issued final debit card interchange and network regulations. Bernanke, however, said the Fed still plans to meet the July 21 deadlines for when the rules are supposed to take effect.
Mar
23
| What: | A half-day conference will examine the potential impact of proposed Federal Reserve Board regulations on debit card interchange fees. Under the proposed regulations, bank debit card fees charged to merchants for debit card transactions would drop by some 80%. Banks have expressed dismay over what would be a massive revenue loss, while merchants applaud the proposal. The conference will examine what the rules ultimately could mean for consumers, banks and economic efficiency. A final decision by the Fed is expected on April 21, 2011, unless Congress passes legislation to postpone the deadline to allow for further study. |
Mar
16
From: The Hill
By Frank Keating
The Federal Reserve’s proposed debit card interchange rule has generated a lot of buzz lately. And with all the voices vying to be heard, it is more important than ever to be clear about the real harm the Fed’s proposal will cause to consumers, the financial institutions that serve them, and the broader economy.
When Congress passed an amendment directing the Fed to assess reasonable and proportional fees on debit interchange – the penny or two that retailers pay every time they choose to accept debit cards for payment – it did so at the 11th hour, without hearings, committee action or informed debate on the amendment.
Mar
09
From: Credit Union Times
By Claude R. Marx
CUNA, NAFCU and several bank groups are asking a federal judge if they can file a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of a bank that is challenging the constitutionality of the law, giving the Federal Reserve the power to regulate interchange.
The groups asked a federal judge in South Dakota for permission to file an amicus curia brief in the lawsuit against the Federal Reserve filed by TCF National Bank, based in Wayzata, Minn.
The groups filed the request on Friday and hope to hear back this week.
Mar
03
Finance Center Federal Credit Union, a community chartered credit union in Indianapolis, explained to the Federal Reserve some of the crucial failings in their proposed debit interchange rule. Of particular note, the credit union provided important recommendations that the Board could adopt to improve the rule including adding additional essential processing costs, such as charge back and employee costs, to the price cap.
Finance Center Federal Credit Union’s complete comments may be found here: http://www.federalreserve.gov/SECRS/2011/February/20110204/R-1404/R-1404_012411_62220_586916374705_1.pdf
Feb
22
The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness filed comments on the Federal Reserve’s Proposed Rule instituting price controls on debit interchange. The comments explained that the NPRM failed to adequately analyze the small business impact of the proposal. For example, small business debit card holders would likely have to pay fees and/or receive reduced benefits if the rule is adopted as proposed. The Board’s tentative decision to set debit interchange below cost for about 20% of card issuing institutions would ensures that small business card holders pay for banking services received now received at no additional cost.
Feb
16
From: WSJ
By MAYA JACKSON RANDALL
WASHINGTON—Financial firms, at a Capitol Hill hearing Thursday, will urge lawmakers to block the Federal Reserve from moving forward on a plan to limit the debit-card processing fees banks charge retailers, the latest move in their persistent battle against the nation’s merchants.
Retailers, meanwhile, are poised to vigorously defend the legislation as a much-needed intervention in a flawed pricing system.
Feb
10
By Maria Aspan
(Reuters) – The Federal Reserve may give U.S. banks insight into whether it will scale back its proposed crackdown on debit card processing fees, when a top official testifies before a congressional panel next week.
Fed Governor Sarah Raskin is expected to appear before a House of Representatives panel on February 17, according to a copy of the tentative witness list obtained by Reuters.
Banks and card companies such as Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc have been pleading with Congress and the Fed to ease up on a December proposal that would cut debit processing fee revenue by about 75 percent.
Feb
03
NEW YORK (AP) — Pending regulations that would sharply cut the fees merchants must pay banks for processing debit card transactions have weighed on Visa Inc. shares for several months.
The rules, proposed by the Federal Reserve in December as required under last summer’s financial regulatory overhaul, are opposed by large and small banks, which maintain the government did not consider all of the costs associated with payments made using debit cards.
During a conference call to discuss Visa’s fiscal first-quarter results, Chairman and CEO Joseph Saunders said the rules as proposed amount to government price fixing that benefits no one.
Jan
26
From: WSJ
By Victoria McGrane
For weeks, lobbyists for banks both large and small have been pounding the hallways of the Capitol to complain about a plan to limit the debit card transaction fees banks can charge retailers. They want lawmakers to repeal the provision in the financial law that directed the Fed to write the rule in the first place.
The worn shoe leather is paying off. House Financial Services Chairman Spencer Bachus (R., Ala.) announced Tuesday that his panel will hold a hearing Feb. 17 on the proposal. Before that, liberal Democrat Barney Frank of Massachusetts, for whom the bill is partly named, had announced he wants to work with Republicans on a legislative fix.