Fed appeals ruling on its debit-card fee cap

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Fed appeals ruling on its debit-card fee cap

AP foreign, Wednesday August 21 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve is appealing a recent court ruling that struck down its cap on how much banks can charge businesses for processing debit card transactions.

The Fed filed a notice Wednesday that it is seeking in a federal appeals court to overturn U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's ruling last month. Leon said at the time that the Federal Reserve didn't have the authority to set the limit the way it did in 2011, and that it improperly included data that made the cap - an average 24 cents per transaction - too high.

Congress mandated a ceiling on debit-card swipe fees as part of the 2010 financial regulatory overhaul. Prior to the cap, fees averaged 44 cents per swipe. Leon's ruling was a victory for a coalition of retail groups, which sued the Fed over its cap. The Fed had initially proposed a 12-cent fee limit, and the retailers argued that the Fed buckled under pressure from bank lobbyists when it doubled that level.

The rule remains in place in the meantime.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/feedarticle/10940531

[Demeter]

1. Again that American lament

why do we have to go to England to hear about events that only affect OUR lives?

[Warpy]

2. Silly, because the Kardashians don't do their own shopping

with ATM cards. If they did, maybe the news would report their displeasure with doubled fees. If they noticed.

[Demeter]

3. What are you talking about?

Are those characters from Dr. Who?

[bemildred]

4. Should be $.03 per transaction, or less. nt