Regulation

A settlement involving the top two payments networks over their merchant acceptance policies gives retailers more clout to promote the use of cheaper cards, but an analyst doubts many businesses will change their practices.

MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc. announced Oct. 4 that they have settled an antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against both companies regarding payment network rules that prohibit so-called merchant steering, in which merchants steer consumers towards using less-expensive card products for payment.

Point-of-sale transactions will likely become less costly, faster and more secure as result of pending debit interchange rate regulation, and future credit card interchange regulation is almost a certainty, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s vice president of finance told attendees today at SourceMedia’s ATM, Debit & Prepaid Forum.

Friedman & Wexler, a collection law firm in Chicago that ceased doing business in July, has been ordered by a Cook County (Ill.) judge to pay a $23.7 million judgment to the state of Illinois.

MasterCard Inc. settled a lawsuit Monday, the same day it was filed by the Department of Justice, regarding payment network rules that prohibit so-called merchant steering.

Elizabeth Warren, the top Obama administration official in charge of setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, made it clear late Wednesday that she intends to target financial disclosures as one of her top priorities.

One unexpected result of new, lower signature-debit interchange rates many insiders expect to go into effect next year could be a boost in merchants’ acceptance of contactless payments, one analyst contends.

No one knew exactly how much revenue banks stood to lose from the new overdraft regulations. But nearly everyone assumed it was a big number.