Law and regulation

Payments-industry representatives rushed to throw support behind legislation introduced March 15 in the U.S. Senate that would delay implementation of new Federal Reserve Board rules that would cap debit interchange beginning this summer.

Certain card issuers grappling with the fallout of new and pending regulations are beginning to recognize that a dramatically different approach to designing payment products may be needed to cope with even more potential regulatory changes ahead.

WASHINGTON – Senator Jon Tester will introduce a bill later today that would delay implementation of the controversial rule on debit interchange for as long as two years while NCUA and bank regulators study its impact on credit unions and community banks, with a similar bill to be introduced later in the House.

A leading consumer group filed a brief in federal court calling for the judge to reject the pleas by credit union and bank groups to block implementation of the Durbin amendment on debit fees, saying consumers will benefit from regulation of the $20 billion-a-year market.

Navigating the regulatory landscape is tough. Legislation can be trendy, quietly beginning in one state then suddenly making its way into statehouses across the country as the media picks up on the public sentiments that first fueled the legislation.

TCF Financial Corp.'s William Cooper is rethinking his long-held belief that economies of scale don't matter in banking.

Consumers sued an estimated 386 different collection agencies and creditors in the Feb. 16-28 period, down from 444 in the first half of the month. The drop, in part, can be attributed to the short month and fewer days in the typical "second half" reviewed by WebRecon, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based research firm that compiles the data from the courts.

WASHINGTON – Senator Dick Durbin insisted yesterday he will fight every effort to delay the pending implementation of his initiative to lower interchange fees paid to credit unions and banks.

WASHINGTON — In a rare show of unity, the leading bank and credit union industry groups filed a joint friend-of-the-court brief on Friday to support TCF Financial Corp.'s lawsuit against implementation of a rule that would limit interchange fees on debit cards.

WASHINGTON — Bankers and other financial executives continued their full-court press to delay pending restrictions on debit interchange fees, even as lawmakers prepared to move forward on plans to delay the new requirements.

The ongoing fight between Square Inc. and rival VeriFone Systems Inc. around payment security highlights the lack of common technical standards for mobile acceptance devices.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Public Interest Group, the leading consumer lobby in Congress, called on the Fed to maintain course and reduce fees on debit transactions while opening the cards market to greater competition.

PHOENIX–Consumer preferences for paying by credit or debit card typically are too deeply entrenched for merchants and banks to succeed easily in steering customers to one or the other option for financial reasons, one banking industry analyst contends.

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of Senators is planning to introduce a bill as soon as next week that would delay implementation of the controversial Federal Reserve rule to cap fees on debit transactions for two years while the Fed studies the issue.

WASHINGTON – Big Box retailers Target, Wal-Mart, SuperValu and Costco are urging the Federal Reserve to proceed with its bid to curb debit fees, insisting they will pass on billions of dollars in reduced charges to consumers.

WASHINGTON — World's Foremost Bank, a $2.9 billion-asset institution in Sidney, Neb., will pay fines of more than $10 million to settle allegations of unfair and deceptive practices, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service is warning of a crisis, similar to the one that rattled the country in 2003, from the growing competition in the country’s credit card market.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The general consensus among attendees here at the Prepaid Card Expo is that, while the industry continues to experience growth, potential state and federal government regulations are casting a storm cloud over the sector.

WASHINGTON — Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh warned Tuesday that a Federal Reserve Board proposal to limit debit interchange fees could hurt banks of all sizes.

WASHINGTON – Hundreds of neighborhood business are calling on the Federal Reserve to proceed with the debit interchange provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act in hopes of passing on the savings back to their communities.