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ATMIA to discuss transaction routing concerns with Fed board

July 16, 2014

The ATM Industry Association announced today that a member task force will meet July 22 with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington. ATMIA requested the meeting to address growing concerns over the routing of ATM debit transactions.

Implementation of the Durbin Amendment granted merchants the right to choose between at least two unaffiliated networks for routing debit transactions at the point of sale. The purpose of the rule is to limit "anti-competitive network restrictions."

This is helpful to merchants who accept debit transactions, however, ATM withdrawals using the same debit card are excluded from the provision. ATMIA argues that ATM acquirers continue to be subject to the same anti-competitive network restrictions that were the primary justification for the Durbin rule.

"As our recently released ATM Industry Overview points out, pretax profit margins for ATM operators have now narrowed to the point that some lower volume locations could be at risk," said ATMIA USA Executive Director David Tente. "This is an issue that affects primarily smaller financial institutions and independent operators, and could negatively impact consumer access to cash."

Transaction routing issues could be further exacerbated by EMV migration, which looms in the next few years. Until EMV is deployed throughout the entire debit system, some transactions now routed to more cost-effective regional networks could be diverted to global networks, instead.

ATMIA contends that routing choice for ATM acquirers will create a more competitive payment system and result in more options for consumers seeking convenient access to cash. The industry has pledged to work closely with the Federal Reserve to address these concerns and to provide input on other payment related issues.

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

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