Debit Fees Aren’t Much Lower, Retailers Say

Few retailers have yet benefitted from regulatory changes aimed at reducing debit fees, a new survey shows.

In fact, the proportion of respondents who said fees have gone up (17.7 percent) is larger than the group who say fees have gone down in the past year (14.6 percent), according to Internet Retailer, which conducted the survey. Most respondents — 67.7 percent — report that fees are unchanged, says Internet Retailer.

The online magazine reached out to Forrester Research senior analyst Denée Carrington, who said he was surprised by the findings. “I would have expected Internet retailers to have appreciated a benefit from the rate reduction,” Carrington told the group.

Delays in realized savings could be caused by the fact that most retailers have yet to negotiate new deals following the passage of new laws, the magazine allows.

Credit cards remain by far the most popular option for online shopping, with nearly half of all respondents attributing more than 90 percent of all sales to credit card transactions.

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