Swipe

[Guns Guns Guns]

The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m., and soon after will resume consideration of S. 782, the Economic Development Revitalization Act.






Overshadowing the bill is an amendment that would delay a rule limiting the fees banks can charge business owners in debit card transactions. The amendment, from Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), would delay the rule for one year and require a study of how the rule might affect smaller banks.




Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has urged his colleagues this week to reject the Tester amendment and allow the rule to come into effect in July.




During floor debate, he argued that banks collect $1.3 billion each month in debit card fees, which are so high now that merchants often lose money when customers make small purchases using their debit card.




Durbin has proposed an amendment to the Tester language, but is expected to withdraw that amendment Wednesday afternoon.






At 2 p.m., the Senate will vote on the Tester language, which is expected to fail in part because it will need 60 votes to pass.




http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/senate/165317-wednesday-senate-preps-for-debit-card-fee-vote

 

[Guns Guns Guns]

As expected, the amendment failed.



Consumers hardly know that each time they swipe their debit card for a purchase that banks charge the retailer a hefty fee for that transaction, but it has been a major source of income for the banks for years.




The Fed, in December, devised a 12 cent cap per transaction that will take effect July 21, per the direction of a provision authored by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in last year's financial regulatory reform law, known as the Dodd-Frank bill after its sponsors.




The Durbin amendment caught bankers off guard last year, and its powerful lobbyists mobilized immediately to delay or defeat it.






They set their sights on an amendment to an economic development bill, currently on the Senate floor, authored by Senators Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., which sought to delay the implementation of the cap.




The Tester-Corker provision would have directed the Fed to determine the possible effect on businesses and to take into account all the costs that go into a debt card and its use.




Rep. Barney Frank, top Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, voiced his support for the Tester-Corker provision, but even that high-level support was not enough to push the amendment across the finish line.


http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2...-delay-debit-card-swipe-fee-cap#ixzz1OiBWBwFn



You could end up paying higher fees...

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[NOVA]

The consumer is the primary beneficiary and the retailer the secondary beneficiary of credit/debit cards......the bank does all the bookwork/record keeping and does the payouts.....

Common sense says that the consumer and the retailer should each pay to the cost of the fees......problem solved...

except it will be tossed around as a political football so some politician or party can reap some points for doing something..... probably the wrong thing....

 

[Guns Guns Guns]

Debit card fees currently average 44 cents per transaction, Blabo.

The mandated 73% reduction is a big deal for both retailers (positive) and banks (negative).


The Federal Reserve, which drafted the new price control rule, determined that the average cost that the banks issuing cards incur in processing debit card transactions is only 7 cents, so allowing 12 cents – 71% higher than cost – appears more than reasonable. In fact, for the largest card issuers, the average cost could be even lower.


Lower debit fees paid to banks will likely cause the banks to issue fewer debit cards.


The problem with government price controls in otherwise unregulated industries is that they don’t prevent corporations from gouging consumers with other fees in response. The unfortunate result of the debit card fee reduction is that consumers may actually end up paying more...




http://www.investingdaily.com/id/18...it-card-fee-reduction-bad-news-for-banks.html

 

[NOVA]

Whatever the fair and just fee arrived at, my point is that the consumer and the retailer should each contribute to the cost of the fees......

If the banks don't want to accept some government fee control they can opt out (it is a free country) and you and I can go back to cash transactions just like the good ole days....
We'll see how that fly's with the US consumer and retail store.....and how it effects elections...haha...

 

[Lowaicue]

I wouldn't worry too much about debit and credit cards. Are US banks as 'honest and trustworthy' as UK banks?

Why are these people not in gaol?

The boss of the Royal Bank of Scotland admitted today that taxpayers' money could have gone towards bankers' bonuses.
Stephen Hester conceded there may have been some 'leakage' from that money into the bonus pool.
Mr Hester was grilled by the Treasury Select Committee over proposals to ring-fence different banking operations to end the risk of another credit crisis.

The Royal Bank of Scotland is 83 per cent owned by the taxpayer and is now shedding 3,500 jobs with more than half of the bank's administration centres facing the axe across the UK.

Nine thousand job cuts were confirmed in 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis that saw the bank close to collapse.
Mr Hester was discussing plans by the Independent Commission on Banking to separate the retail arms of UK banks from the riskier investment banking divisions.
Mr Hester told the Treasury Select Committee he could not give 'black and white answers' when asked if he backed the move.
But he warned: 'Creating a ring fence increases some of the systemic risk and decreases the ability of banks to withstand the risk and has significant costs.'
RBS made a UK record annual pre-tax loss of £24.1billion in 2008, widely blamed on the disastrous strategy of corporate acquisition pursued by the former chief executive Sir Fred Goodwin.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ney-leaked-bankers-bonuses.html#ixzz1OqywAk9T

and here is a follow up headline:

RBS chief to pocket huge £6.8m pay packet as Cameron warns taxpayer-owned bank 'should not be leading way on bonuses'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...pite-David-Cameron-warning.html#ixzz1Or0UqrzE

I strongly suggest you look at your own banks.