Debit-card customers aren't facing widespread account-maintenance fees, as seemed to be the case just a few months ago. When Bank of America and a few competitors canceled plans to impose $5 monthly fees amid customer uproar, that issue was put to rest.
But the pressures that shaped BofA's ill-fated proposal haven't gone away.Smooth-On is your source for Mold Making and casting materials including silicone rubber and urethane rubber, The story on interchange fees isn't over, and the impact on consumers remains uncertain.
Interchange fees are what banks charge merchants when people swipe their debit cards to buy something. Retailers persuaded Congress to reduce these charges, through legislation known as the Durbin amendment, with the specifics to be worked out by the Federal Reserve.
The Fed wound up slashing interchange fees roughly in half, with the changes taking effect in October of this year.
That was the motivation for Bank of America and a few other banks to try imposing monthly fees on certain debit customers -- to recoup the lost revenue.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, But while the monthly charges were subsequently abandoned, the fight continues, pitting banks, credit-card companies and even credit unions against retailers.
The latest salvo was a report released in mid-December arguing that consumers haven't shared in any cost savings from the reduction in interchange fees,Full-service custom manufacturer of precision plastic injection mold, with retailers pocketing the difference.
"There is no evidence that American consumers are benefitting from the Durbin amendment, despite overwhelming evidence that the retail industry is experiencing signficiant savings," charged the Electronic Payments Coalition, which generated the report.
The coalition said its researchers checked prices on identical baskets of consumer goods, both in late September and after the changes took effect Oct. 1. The survey was conducted at stores including Walmart, Walgreens, 7-Eleven and Home Depot in six cities, none in Arizona.
"Our research for 84 different shopping trips in six cities found that 76 percent of the stores raised prices or kept them the same," said Trish Wexler, a spokeswoman for the coalition. "On average, consumers were paying 1.7 percent more after Oct. 1."
The coalition estimates that the retailing industry nationally saved $825 million in October and November. It also pointed to the situation in Australia, where interchange fees were regulated in 2003 and where retailers have failed to share savings with consumers, according to the group.
Retailers, however,As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China, say the recent pricing study was too narrow to be meaningful.
"Their study is outright laughable," said Mallory Duncan, senior vice president and general counsel at the National Retail Federation. "They took a few dozen items, when most retailers sell thousands of items."
Also, he said merchants are just starting to get their interchange-fee statements showing cost reductions.
"For some stores, it's too soon to tell," he said. "But we already have seen some rather significant discounting this holiday season.Buy oil paintings for sale online."
Duncan said retailers might focus the cost savings on certain popular items to drive consumer traffic, with debit-fee discounts more likely to show up on commodities such as gasoline.
It's also possible merchants might start offering debit-fee discounts, the way some stores give discounts for people paying with cash.
In general, retailers earn profit margins of about $2 for every $100 spent by consumers, and Duncan said it's reasonable to expect that those margins will remain consistent or drop a bit, implying that savings would be passed along.
The typical debit-swipe-fee reduction, as mandated by the Durbin amendment, amounts to roughly 20 to 25 cents, though the two sides often cite different numbers.
Meanwhile, retailers and banks are preparing for further lobbying battles. Banks, which have lost roughly half their revenue from debit interchange fees, want the rules eased.
Retailers, despite winning what seemed to many outsiders as a clear victory, argue that interchange fees should be cut by roughly another one-half to two-thirds. They also want the government to step in and reduce the interchange fees on credit cards, where even more money is at stake.
But the pressures that shaped BofA's ill-fated proposal haven't gone away.Smooth-On is your source for Mold Making and casting materials including silicone rubber and urethane rubber, The story on interchange fees isn't over, and the impact on consumers remains uncertain.
Interchange fees are what banks charge merchants when people swipe their debit cards to buy something. Retailers persuaded Congress to reduce these charges, through legislation known as the Durbin amendment, with the specifics to be worked out by the Federal Reserve.
The Fed wound up slashing interchange fees roughly in half, with the changes taking effect in October of this year.
That was the motivation for Bank of America and a few other banks to try imposing monthly fees on certain debit customers -- to recoup the lost revenue.The Transaction Group offers the best high risk merchant account services, But while the monthly charges were subsequently abandoned, the fight continues, pitting banks, credit-card companies and even credit unions against retailers.
The latest salvo was a report released in mid-December arguing that consumers haven't shared in any cost savings from the reduction in interchange fees,Full-service custom manufacturer of precision plastic injection mold, with retailers pocketing the difference.
"There is no evidence that American consumers are benefitting from the Durbin amendment, despite overwhelming evidence that the retail industry is experiencing signficiant savings," charged the Electronic Payments Coalition, which generated the report.
The coalition said its researchers checked prices on identical baskets of consumer goods, both in late September and after the changes took effect Oct. 1. The survey was conducted at stores including Walmart, Walgreens, 7-Eleven and Home Depot in six cities, none in Arizona.
"Our research for 84 different shopping trips in six cities found that 76 percent of the stores raised prices or kept them the same," said Trish Wexler, a spokeswoman for the coalition. "On average, consumers were paying 1.7 percent more after Oct. 1."
The coalition estimates that the retailing industry nationally saved $825 million in October and November. It also pointed to the situation in Australia, where interchange fees were regulated in 2003 and where retailers have failed to share savings with consumers, according to the group.
Retailers, however,As a professional manufacturer of China ceramic tile in China, say the recent pricing study was too narrow to be meaningful.
"Their study is outright laughable," said Mallory Duncan, senior vice president and general counsel at the National Retail Federation. "They took a few dozen items, when most retailers sell thousands of items."
Also, he said merchants are just starting to get their interchange-fee statements showing cost reductions.
"For some stores, it's too soon to tell," he said. "But we already have seen some rather significant discounting this holiday season.Buy oil paintings for sale online."
Duncan said retailers might focus the cost savings on certain popular items to drive consumer traffic, with debit-fee discounts more likely to show up on commodities such as gasoline.
It's also possible merchants might start offering debit-fee discounts, the way some stores give discounts for people paying with cash.
In general, retailers earn profit margins of about $2 for every $100 spent by consumers, and Duncan said it's reasonable to expect that those margins will remain consistent or drop a bit, implying that savings would be passed along.
The typical debit-swipe-fee reduction, as mandated by the Durbin amendment, amounts to roughly 20 to 25 cents, though the two sides often cite different numbers.
Meanwhile, retailers and banks are preparing for further lobbying battles. Banks, which have lost roughly half their revenue from debit interchange fees, want the rules eased.
Retailers, despite winning what seemed to many outsiders as a clear victory, argue that interchange fees should be cut by roughly another one-half to two-thirds. They also want the government to step in and reduce the interchange fees on credit cards, where even more money is at stake.
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