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Some payments-industry insiders say they expect the U.S. Government Accountability Office tomorrow to release a comprehensive report on credit and debit card interchange. The agency has been developing the report over the past six months as mandated by a clause in the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act President Obama signed last May. The law requires the GAO to investigate and report to Congress details on interchange-rate disclosure, merchants' ability to negotiate rates, the costs incorporated into the rates, fee disclosure and transparency, merchants' ability to offer discounts for cash use instead of cards, and competition. The law also requires the GAO to make recommendations to Congress on future interchange policies. Some payments-industry observers, including executives from the Electronic Payments Coalition and the National Retail Federation, tell CardLine they do not expect Congress to react immediately to the GAO report. "The GAO typically takes a balanced approach to these things, so we don't expect them to come down hard in favor of interchange or against it," says federation spokesperson Craig Shearman. "We hope the GAO's report paves the way for future legislation that would enable merchants to negotiate fair interchange" rates with the card networks, Shearman says. Trish Wexler, a spokesperson for the Electronic Payments Coalition, says her organization is optimistic the report will not result in "game-changing" recommendations. "We expect the GAO's report to show the facts, including the crucial role interchange fees play in supporting electronic payments," she says.
