Law and regulation

WASHINGTON – A bipartisan group of Senators is planning to introduce a bill as soon as next week that would delay implementation of the controversial Federal Reserve rule to cap fees on debit transactions for two years while the Fed studies the issue.

WASHINGTON – Big Box retailers Target, Wal-Mart, SuperValu and Costco are urging the Federal Reserve to proceed with its bid to curb debit fees, insisting they will pass on billions of dollars in reduced charges to consumers.

WASHINGTON — World's Foremost Bank, a $2.9 billion-asset institution in Sidney, Neb., will pay fines of more than $10 million to settle allegations of unfair and deceptive practices, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday.

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service is warning of a crisis, similar to the one that rattled the country in 2003, from the growing competition in the country’s credit card market.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The general consensus among attendees here at the Prepaid Card Expo is that, while the industry continues to experience growth, potential state and federal government regulations are casting a storm cloud over the sector.

WASHINGTON — Acting Comptroller of the Currency John Walsh warned Tuesday that a Federal Reserve Board proposal to limit debit interchange fees could hurt banks of all sizes.

WASHINGTON – Hundreds of neighborhood business are calling on the Federal Reserve to proceed with the debit interchange provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act in hopes of passing on the savings back to their communities.

Many consumers still are not familiar with the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act and believe it has not had any effect on them, new research suggests.

“No dogs, no bare feet … no community bank debit cards”?

Freedom Debt Relief, a debt settlement agency based in San Mateo, Calif., will pay $1.1 million to refund more than 5,000 New York residents who were misled about the amount of money they would save, according to New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office.

Credit-union and bank groups plan to file a brief as early as March 7 asking a federal court to block implementation of the debit-interchange fee provisions of the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act.

WASHINGTON – Credit unions and banks are urging the Federal Reserve to exclude ATMs transactions from the new rules setting price caps on debit fees.

A Montana federal jury ordered collection law firm Johnson, Rodenburg & Lauinger to pay a disabled former janitor $311,000 in damages because it pursued his $3,000 credit card debt after the statute of limitations had expired.

The legal volleying in TCF Financial Corp.'s lawsuit to block the Durbin amendment continued Friday with the Wayzata, Minn., banking company filing documents in federal court to counter regulators' opposition.

Debit card networks could lose $1.7 billion in revenue from fees they charge banks stemming from the Federal Reserve Board’s proposed debit-interchange caps, according to an analyst.

Proposed and recently enacted state and federal regulations regarding debit and reloadable prepaid cards have put card programs used for disbursing unemployment, Social Security and other benefits in serious jeopardy, a JPMorgan Chase & Co. executive tells PaymentsSource.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office filed a lawsuit this week against Legal Helpers Debt Resolution, alleging the Chicago-based debt settlement company used lawyers as a front to illegally collect massive fees from consumers seeking help.

ATM independent sales organizations are worried about declining interchange rates, rising costs and pending legislation, but the majority are still looking to expand their businesses within the next year, the results of a recent survey suggest.

Attorney Sergei Lemberg is challenging the characterization of fair debt attorneys published last week in a Denver Post article with the headline "Consumers Dealing with Debt Collectors Become Stuck in a Vicious Cycle of Lawsuits."

WASHINGTON—An effort to delay proposed debit-interchange rules continued to build momentum March 2 as bankers and lawmakers called for a more effective exemption for small financial institutions.