Law and regulation

Federal regulators on June 28 released updated guidance on how banks should guard against cyber-security threats.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve Board on Wednesday suggested raising the debit interchange fee cap to 26 cents per transaction – more than double its initial proposal of 12 cents.

WASHINGTON — On the eve of the much-anticipated release of a final rule on debit card swipe fees, the lobbying group for retailers made a final plea that the Federal Reserve Board maintain its initial proposal of 12 cents per transaction.

The United Kingdom’s Office of Fair Trading wants the region’s passenger-travel companies to alter what it deems misleading debit and credit card surcharging practices.

Minnesota’s TCF Bank asked a federal appeals court yesterday to order the Federal Reserve to provide the court with an advanced copy of the Fed’s final debit rule to be voted next week, in order to help the court deliberate over the bank’s suit to stop the rule.

WASHINGTON–The Federal Reserve Board is scheduled to issue its final rule on a controversial swipe fee provision next week, according to a public notice released June 21.

Public fallout from the data breaches that have affected Citigroup and other large enterprises in and out of finance in recent weeks has reached the political push back stage, with both Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-Calif.) hoping the events will breathe new life into data protection legislation that’s failed in the past.

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel's office has filed a lawsuit against a collection agency that did not fully answer investigative requests regarding its practices for collecting on payday loans, according to the AG's office.

Many banks subject to the Durbin amendment are convinced debit interchange cuts will make free checking or rewards programs impossible to support. What they are not so sure about is what Durbin would mean in the fight against fraud.

A California man pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud for his role in a scheme that defrauded individuals and businesses through a phony collection operation, according to U.S. Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.

Not all state legislatures and regulators have been content to let the federal government push through new debit interchange rules established by the Durbin amendment.

As both the Credit Union National Association and the National Association of Federal Credit Unions now focus lobbying efforts on impacting the final Fed rule on debit interchange (see story), federation President Fred Becker urged credit unions to have plans firmly in place to make up for the potential loss in revenue.

A federal judge has ruled in favor of the Federal Trade Commission and ordered Real Wealth Inc. and its owner, Lance Murkin, to pay $10.4 million, the full amount of harm caused to thousands of consumers nationwide who bought in to the defendants' work-at-home and grant scams.

The Federal Reserve’s proposed cap on debit fees is “discriminatory,” because it singles out the nation’s biggest banks and credit unions, so should be barred from being finalized, lawyers for Minnesota’s TCF Bank told a federal appeals court yesterday.

Heartland Payment Systems Inc.’s merchant clients could save up to $2,000 annually as a result of pending limits on debit card interchange fees, an executive at the processing company said June 16.

Lawyers for Minnesota’s TCF Bank will tell a federal appeals court in St. Louis this morning that the Fed’s proposed cap on debit fees amounts to an unconstitutional “taking” of its assets, in a last-ditch effort by banks and credit unions to block the Fed’s final rule.

A member of the Senate Banking Committee is calling for an investigation into a data breach at Citigroup.

Visa and MasterCard have developed services for merchants to determine which cards cost more to accept — rekindling the debate over whether small banks will suffer under the Durbin amendment.

The Department of Justice filed papers yesterday to implement the settlement of its antitrust suit against Visa and MasterCard, which will prevent the two card networks from barring merchants from steering transactions to lower-cost cards.

While most of the attention so far has focused on who will be the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, would-be employees are increasingly anxious about how and when the agency plans to fill the lower ranks.