News

EPC supports Durbin Amendment repeal

October 13, 2011

According to Bank Tech.com, the Electronic Payments Coalition has announced its support for legislation repealing the Durbin Amendment for debit interchange fee caps. Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) and Congressman Bill Owens (D-N.Y.) are the lead co-sponsors of the legislation, which they introduced in the House of Representatives.

The debit interchange cap limits the fee to about 24 cents per transaction. As a result, banks have already begun implementing strategies to recover lost revenue, including eliminating free checking programs and charging fees for debit card use.

According to the article, EPC spokeswoman Trish Wexler issued a statement saying, "The Durbin Amendment was forced into law despite repeated warnings from consumer advocates, regulators and economists on the dire consequences that await consumers. We now see this unfortunate situation for consumers playing out in the form of higher costs to own and use a debit card, with no promise from merchants that any of their savings will be passed on at the register."

For more information on this topic, visit our regulatory issues research center.