Appeals court rules fees stores pay when customers use debit cards must come down
From NPR.
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The price store owners pay for processing debit card transactions could soon be going down.
Every time a customer uses a debit card to make a purchase, the seller has to pay a fee to the bank that issued the debit card: typically 21 cents plus a fraction of the value of the sale. Last year, those "swipe fees" added up to more than $40 billion. Now, a federal appeals court has ruled those fees must come down — the court found the Federal Reserve, which regulates the fees, had allowed the issuing banks to recoup costs that Congress never intended. A coalition of retailers welcomed the decision, which could result in lower costs for consumers.
An even bigger fight continues over the swipe fees charged on credit cards, which are currently un-regulated and cost merchants almost four times as much as debit fees.
Find “NPR News Now” wherever you listen to podcasts.
Host: Korva Coleman/NPR
Reporter: Scott Horsley/NPR
Producer: Michael Zamora/NPR
Every time a customer uses a debit card to make a purchase, the seller has to pay a fee to the bank that issued the debit card: typically 21 cents plus a fraction of the value of the sale. Last year, those "swipe fees" added up to more than $40 billion. Now, a federal appeals court has ruled those fees must come down — the court found the Federal Reserve, which regulates the fees, had allowed the issuing banks to recoup costs that Congress never intended. A coalition of retailers welcomed the decision, which could result in lower costs for consumers.
An even bigger fight continues over the swipe fees charged on credit cards, which are currently un-regulated and cost merchants almost four times as much as debit fees.
Find “NPR News Now” wherever you listen to podcasts.
Host: Korva Coleman/NPR
Reporter: Scott Horsley/NPR
Producer: Michael Zamora/NPR
