The Bank Reform Bill passed thru Congress, President needs to sign.
(he will) Now the Federal Reserve has to write the rules.
"Debit card interchange fees
While final rules are still months away, the new bill will very
likely save merchants money. Whether it will save money for you is
less certain.
* Interchange fees, also known as
"<http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/blog/page.aspx?post=1772823>swipe
fees," are charges merchants are required to pay Visa and MasterCard
for processing debit and credit card transactions. The fees for debit
cards average 1.6%; credit card swipe fees average more than 2%.
Under the new law, the Federal Reserve can cap the fees on debit
cards (but not credit cards) to what is "reasonable and proportional
to the actual cost incurred."
It will take months for the Federal Reserve to decide what's
reasonable, but in Europe, Visa and MasterCard interchange fees are
as low as 0.2%. In Australia, they're capped at 0.5%. Odds are that
caps in teh U.S. will be higher than those on other continents, but
lower than they are here today. In lobbying for this change,
retailers assured Congress that they would pass along their savings
to consumers. Many consumer advocates, however -- including me -- are
skeptical.
* Merchants will be allowed to offer a discount to customers who
pay with credit or debit cards that carry lower transaction fees.
That hasn't been allowed in the past. They'll also be allowed to set
both minimums and maximums for card transactions."
*
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/blog/page.aspx?post=1782327
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