Fed Will Finalize Swipe Fee Rule on June 29

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 Tuesday.

The central bank announced it will hold a public meeting on June 29 to discuss the plan. The final rule will be released less than a month before it is supposed to take effect on July 21.

Several industry groups are hoping the Fed will push back the effective date to give banks more time to transition to the cap.

Banks, credit unions and others are also pushing the central bank, following 11,000 comments it has received on its initial December proposal, to lift the planned 12-cent swipe fee cap. Analysts have been widely anticipating the Fed will raise the limit to as high as 20 cents.

Such a move would be a significant improvement, but would still fall short of the industry's average of 44 cents per transaction.

Other issues still left unclear are whether issuer network fees used to pay for the cost of each transaction are included in the Fed's calculations for the cap, and if any substantive changes will be made to ensure that banks under $50 billion are exempted.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER