Inside This Issue - News

Victory on swipe fees

WASHINGTON – Retail industry trade groups hailed the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which contains significant reform of credit and debit card swipe fees. The bill was signed into law by President Obama on July 21.

"This is a dramatic first step in the fight to control rising credit and debit card fees and has tremendous potential for savings, but we know the fight isn’t over," says Matt Shay, president and chief executive officer of the National Retail Federation (NRF), which estimates the fees cost retailers and consumers $48 billion.

Other trade associations representing mass market retail joined the chorus of approval, including the Food Marketing Institute, the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the National Grocers Association.

The final bill included an amendment sponsored by Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D., Ill.) that requires the Federal Reserve to set regulations resulting in “reasonable and proportional” swipe fees for debit cards. The Fed is also required to consider banks’ actual costs for processing transactions and the fact that paper checks drawn on the same accounts are paid at face value.