Sorry, Big Banks! We get whose mega profits will be reduced by reasonable debit fees!

[flpoljunkie]

Yours! Nice try, though!

[flpoljunkie]

1. We're not falling for this one, either! Banks are pushing hard now hoping Congress will delay

implementation of the reduction in debit fees banks can charge businesses when people use their debit cards. The lobbyists are working furiously to delay this for a year. I was very disappointed to learn this week that Debbie Wasserman Schultz has cosponsored a bill to do just that. Corporate Dems who put bank profits first are last on my list!

[Moostache]

5. Add Wasserman-Schultz to the growing list of D.I.N.O's...

They "care" when its convenient and when the cameras are on...then when the rubber hits the road, they snap off a crisp salute and click the heels of their jackboots to appease the corporate pay masters.

There is no doubt about who really owns and runs this country, its just a matter of price. I hope she got enough campaign cash to make me think she is a high priced whore instead of a common $50-a-suck hooker.

[flpoljunkie]

7. It looks like the Dems are trying to get back of the money filling the R's campaign coffers in 2010

Whose side are you on, Democrats!

[flpoljunkie]

2. Bernanke says Federal Reserve will miss April 21 deadline for a rule on debit card fees!

Visa gained 2.8 percent to close at $74.23 after Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said Tuesday that it would miss a April 21 deadline for a rule on debit card transaction fees. The Treasury’s benchmark 10-year note rose 14/32, to 101 18/32, and the yield slipped to 3.43 percent from 3.49 percent late Tuesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/business/31markets.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=debit%20card%20fee,%20treasury&st=cse

[flpoljunkie]

3. More on delaying the rule on debit card fees...

Fed will miss deadline on rules for debit card fees, Bernanke says

By Peter Schroeder - 03/29/11 05:26 PM ET

The Federal Reserve will miss the April 21 deadline for finalizing rules on new limits on debit card fees, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has told lawmakers.

In a letter sent Tuesday to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.) and ranking member Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Bernanke said the central bank would not be able to meet the statutory deadline.

The "extraordinary volume" of public comments — more than 11,000 comments have been submitted — coupled with the complexities raised, will make it impossible for the central bank to finish the rules by the deadline set in the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

Instead, Bernanke said the Fed hopes to finalize the rules by July 21, when that provision of the law goes into effect.

"I want to assure you that we are devoting substantial resources to these efforts to ensure that we give the issues the careful consideration they deserve," he said.

more...

[sarcasmo]

4. If this passes I will do away with my one and only debit card.

[flpoljunkie]

6. Banks say they will make up the decreased debt fee elsewhere, but merchants could pass savings on.

Right now the banks charge businesses an average of 44 cents to process debit card charge. Durbin's bill will decrease the fee banks charge businesses to 7 to 12 cents. The banks love their big profits. This past year banks percentage of all profits rose to 30%. That is obscene. They produce nothing. Their profits are largely made on gouging people and legalized gambling.

We must not let banks blackmail us into supporting their nefarious scheme to keep their egregious profits from processing these transactions. Our banks, you won't be surprised to learn, charge more for these transactions than in other country in the world.

[sarcasmo]

8. If you have any money put it in a Credit Union.

[flpoljunkie]

9. The credit unions are with the big banks and against Durbin's effort to lower transaction fees.

http://www.bankrate.com/financing/banking/credit-unions-fear-debit-changes/

[bhikkhu]

10. There's no transaction fee when you use cash

I know some are up in arms over the idea of paying a transaction fee for the convenience of using a debit card, but businesses (large and small) already pay fees for us to use debit cards. Those fees are just bundled into the "cost of doing business", which inevitably works out to how much they have to charge for things to keep the doors open.

The banks get 1.5 - 3% of every card purchase made already, often siphoned off of businesses that only have a 3% profit margin to begin with. The end result is higher prices, so in effect 100% of the people pay the transaction costs for those who choose to use debit cards.

Of course the OP is about bank profits, but the debit fees are already there - if you think you aren't paying them now you are mistaken. The one solution would be to pay with cash, though as in many other cases real solutions generate very little interest...

[golfguru]

11. Don't forget the cost of printing, counting, handling of cash

Electronic transactions avoid all of that.

[bhikkhu]

12. I don't think its anywhere near 1.5-3%

If you know anyone that has a retail business, transaction fees can often be the largest expense, after payroll. I don't know any business owners who discourage plastic, as it is "money in the bank" that they don't have to worry about, but the costs are still substantial.

I do think that splitting the costs between buyer and seller would be more fair, however, and make people a little more aware of the costs of their habits.

[golfguru]

13. All that makes perfect sense but

I just wanted to make it clear that handling cash is not without cost.
The retailer has to safeguard the cash, count the cash, take some of
it to the bank, the cashier must be stocked with various bills and coins
to offer change, retailer has to guard against counterfeit bills, etc etc.

None of those costs are incurred with a debit or credit card. The transaction
itself is faster with a card compared to cash transaction.