Regulation

Representatives for the Philippines credit card industry are expressing worry over a bill that would cap card interest rates.

Consumers doubt they will benefit from lower debit fees, according to a recent survey, even as the Federal Reserve is poised to direct lower interchange charged merchants by credit unions and banks.

The National Payments Corp. of India has informed banks that it will charge remitting institutions 0.1 rupees (0.002 U.S. cents or 0.0015 euros) for every mobile transaction that flows through the interbank funds-transfer service it launched last year, the company announced March 14.

WASHINGTON – Credit union and bank lobbyists hope to convince senators who voted overwhelmingly for last year’s Durbin amendment on debit interchange and may have buyer’s remorse to change their vote and approve a proposed delay.

WASHINGTON—The banking industry saw the first tangible signs of progress March 15 in its fight to overturn the Durbin amendment, as House and Senate lawmakers officially introduced bills that would delay implementation of a plan to restrict interchange fees on debit cards.

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.