October 4, 2011
The Retail Industry Leaders Association will soon begin lobbying for lower credit card interchange rates, according to The Hill.
“We plan to do the same, if not more, to see that credit is reformed,” Katherine Lugar, executive vice president of public affairs for the trade group, told The Hill. “Debit is step one. Credit is next. We are heading there very aggressively.”
Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation began last month a $10 million lobbying effort in support of issues including credit card interchange regulation. Credit card interchange fees bring in around $30 billion annually for banks and card companies, according to merchant lobbyists.
“Representatives of the financial services industry say the lobbying on credit card fees will fall on deaf ears,” assess The Hill. “They contend that lawmakers are drained from the summer’s debate on debit fees and don’t want to be caught again between such big-box retailers as Target and Wal-Mart and banking giants such as Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.”
After the new debit swipe fee rules were issued, many FIs implemented additional consumer charges. In particular, Bank of America’s $5 monthly debit fee has received a rash of public backlash.
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But that isn’t stopping some retail associations.
“We have talked about credit and debit card fees for a long time,” said Doug Kantor, counsel to the Merchant Payments Coalition. “We’re now in a sense refocusing on credit card fees and reminding lawmakers of the bad behavior by the banks and the credit card companies.”
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