SAN FRANCISCO - Under growing pressure for increasing fees paid on gas transactions, Visa Inc. said it is restructuring consumer interchange for transactions at automated fuel dispensers and service stations, effectively lowering interchange rates.
The move comes as consumers are paying higher fees to fill up because the fees are set as a percentage of the total purchase.
Interchange for Visa consumer debit cards (Visa Check Card and Visa prepaid) will be capped at $0.95 per transaction. This change will become effective on July 18. Visa credit interchange applied to fuel transactions has been restructured into a single, lower rate across all consumer credit card transactions. This adjustment will take effect system-wide for all fuel transactions in October.
Visa said the new rates will result in lower interchange fees for the average consumer on the purchase of gas.
The move comes as Congress is debating reforms to the current system for setting interchange fees on all card transactions. Legislation introduced in the House and Senate would take some of the power of Visa and MasterCard to set fees and allow retailers to negotiate their own fees with the card companies.(c) 2008 The Credit Union Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.http://www.cujournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com
