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US/EU: Lawmakers, stores want US consumers to join EU payments bandwagon

By  |  January 22, 2014

Following the announcement of sweeping overhauls of the European payments industry by the European Commission – overhauls that include strict regulation of swipe fees – reports say retailers in the US are hoping consumers will adapt a similar mindset on their side of the pond. Two US Congressmen, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Representative Peter Welch (D-VT), sent a letter to the Federal Reserve Board last Friday asking its chairman Ben Bernanke to “carefully review” the European regulations on interchange fees, which proposes a cap for debit and credit cards. Further, the a group of retailers of the Merchant Payments Coalition showed support last Friday for Durbin and Welch’s efforts and said that the European regulatory proposals confirms “the Fed caved to the bank lobbying on debit reform” in a way that is unjustified.

Full Content: Credit Union Times

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