Regulation

A federal judge has put a stop to three companies’ allegedly deceptive telemarketing calls, including robocalls, that promised to reduce consumers’ credit card interest rates.

The Better Business Bureau serving Central California is warning businesses to avoid collection agency Maxwell, Turner & Associates Inc. The Fresno, Calif. agency has an F-rating for 32 unanswered complaints within the last 10 months.

Chinese lawmakers have approved new regulations to help stem the rise in credit card defaults in that country.

While card issuers and payments networks are focusing their attention on the potential consumer harm from a Senate amendment that could lower debit card interchange rates, how it might affect issuers’ bottom lines remains murky, observers say.

Credit Union National Association on Tuesday said it has terminated talks aimed at minimizing the onerous interchange provisions in the bank reform bill and has changed focus to knocking the provision out of the bill when Senate and House leaders meet to reconcile different versions of the legislation.

Though legislation that would permit merchants to set minimum and maximum limits on card transactions remains pending in Congress, it is gaining a lot of attention among merchant acquirers and independent sales organizations.

Credit Union National Association lobbyists broke off negotiations congressional leaders last Thursday and are instead firing up the CU grassroots to lobby for provisions they hope will minimize the impact of interchange amendments added to the bank reform bill passed by the Senate last week.

Confronted with potentially dramatic reductions in checking overdraft-fee revenues, banks are intensely studying new laws and regulations and searching for quick ways to correct broken product economics and re-engage with customers.

Starting Jan. 1, Vermont merchants will be able to set spending minimums for debit and credit card payments under a bill that became law last week despite concerns from the state's governor.

Payments-industry lobbyists late this week began the uphill effort of trying to eliminate an amendment from the financial-reform bill the Senate passed May 20 that would enable the Federal Reserve to control debit card interchange rates.