The National Retail Federation applauded House Republican leaders plan to abandon an effort to overturn debit card swipe fee reform, which the trade group says saved retailers and consumers more than $40 billion.
In a press release the group called the move a major victory for consumers and communities where retailers have passed on the swipe savings to improve customer service, create jobs and enhance the local economy. “This is a major victory for the consumers who have saved billions of dollars under swipe fee reform and for the communities where retailers have used swipe savings to improve customer service, create jobs and boost the local economy,”. “Repeal of reform would have allowed banks to return to the uncompetitive market that allowed them to set these fees as high as they liked. The progress that was made toward competition would have been lost, and consumers would have seen nothing but higher prices,” NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan said in the news release. “Despite tonight’s good news, we will continue to follow this bill to the end and ensure that repeal is not included in the final legislation.”
According to the NRF the repeal of swipe fee reform would have come as part of the Financial Choice Act, a broad based bill that would roll back banking regulations established in 2010 under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The House is expected to vote on the bill after it returns from its Memorial Day recess in June, and leadership conducted a whip count this week to determine support for the overall measure and provisions such as the repeal of swipe fee reform. A number of Republican House members expressed concerns about repealing swipe reform, and reports indicate agreement has been reached to drop the provision, noted the trade group.