Nov
17
Forbes
Posted by Bob Egan
The answer to Capital One’s question: “What’s in your wallet?” may be “nothing” in the next few years.
Three major U.S. mobile operators have created a joint venture known as ISIS, which intends to build a mobile payment solution that will allow consumers to make purchases at retail stores with just a wave of a mobile phone at the checkout counter. The founding members of the JV include AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless.
Nov
11
Digital Transactions
Nov
05
By Aparajita Saha-Bubna
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
A new federal law curbing fees on debit-card transactions could wipe out $9 billion in revenue annually for issuers.
The estimate comes from CardHub.com, a credit-card comparison website that has access to broad industry data. Banks are scrambling to claw back some of the lost revenue from this and prior regulatory changes. Among the new tactics being considered: emphasizing prepaid cards, which are exempt from the new rules.
Banks are also responding by adding new fees to existing products, such as checking accounts, and watering down debit rewards programs.
Oct
25
The Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation requires the Federal Reserve to set interchange fees for electronic debit card transactions. These fees are a subset of the total costs paid by merchants for the business advantages accruing from acceptance of debit cards.
In setting the interchange rate, the legislation instructs the Federal Reserve to focus on the “the incremental cost incurred by an issuer…in the authorization…of a particular electronic debit transaction….” As a Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond publication explained, however, “It is important to distinguish between incremental and marginal costs.” The FRB went on to explain that incremental cost is greater than marginal cost and includes some fixed costs.
Oct
25
The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness has released the attached paper Understanding Marginal Costs in a Two-Sided Market: Implications for Debit Card Interchange Regulation. The paper is intended to help guide the Federal Reserve’s develeopment of regulations governing interchange fees on electronic debit transactions.
Oct
17
by Tim on October 16, 2010
I’ve mentioned quite a few times in the past that banks are not happy about the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Bill. This is the amendment that mandates the Fed to oversee the interchange fees that networks like Visa and MasterCard charge to merchants when you swipe your debit card. These fees help subsidize many of the other services that banks offer, like free checking accounts, which is why some banks (like Bank of America) have started imposing new fees and deposit minimums on their accounts.
Well now, one bank has decided to fight back.
Oct
03
In order to increase the transparency of this important organization, the Center for Reguhlatory Effectiveness, a recognized regulatory watchdog, has established an Interactive Public Docket (IPD) dedicated to venting its operations and alllowing the public to send it comments on a 24/7 basis.
The FRB operations are subject to the “good government” statutes which “regulate the regulators”. The “good government” statutes include the Data Quality Act and the Paperwork Reduction Act .
Oct
03
GAO Study on Interchange Fees Inconclusive By Sara Jerome
Advocacy efforts over the prospect of credit card interchange regulation have led to a gridlocked debate between retailers and credit card companies. Interchange fees are the cost stores pay to banks when customers use credit cards.
A GAO study released Thursday, which sought to cut through the fray, was pretty much a wash. Stakeholders on both sides immediately adopted certain aspects of the report into their lobbying efforts, ignoring points that weren’t so favorable.
Points supporting retailers:
Oct
03
Sep 30th
Posted by M·CAM Analytical Team in Patently Obvious
This week’s Patently Obvious report focuses on the patent holdings of Visa, Inc. With the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act recently signed into law on July 21, 2010, major credit card companies have found themselves subject to new financial regulatory restrictions arising from the Durbin amendment.
Sep
22
The Center for Regulatory Effectiveness has published a Guide advising merchants on how they cut their payment card (debit and credit card) processing costs without any regulatory intervention. The Guide:
1. Discusses why merchants accept payment cards;
2. Explains how card payments are processed;
3. Describes the different components of payment processing costs;
4. Details the problems and pitfalls of interchange regulation;
5. Provides a guide for merchants to use in reducing their payment card processing costs; and
6. Includes case examples of merchants who have succeeded in substantially reducing their card processing costs.