Law and regulation

Visa Europe this morning announced a settlement with the European Commission, agreeing to cap its weighted yearly average intraregional multilateral interchange rate for immediate debit transactions at 0.2% of the sale for four years. This represents a reduction of less than 20% for domestic interchange fees covered by the commitments, the card brand noted in a statement.

The Federal Trade Commission announced Monday it has banned a deceptive advertising operation from the debt-relief business under a $28.2 million judgment settlement.

Financial institutions looking to make up for revenue lost should debit card interchange rates dramatically drop next year could target what increasingly has become a thorn in their side: third party automated clearinghouse debits from their customers’ checking accounts, new research suggests.

Fifth Third Bancorp has agreed to pay $9.5 million in a proposed settlement with customers who claim they were improperly charged debit card overdraft fees caused by the bank’s policy of manipulating the sequence of posted transactions.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers' office announced Wednesday it has filed a lawsuit against Denver-based Regent Asset Management Solutions Inc. and CEO Michael Scata for allegedly violating state consumer protection statutes.

Maryland regulators ordered a Kansas collection agency to stop doing business in Maryland after alleging the company repeatedly tried to collect on illegal payday loans - despite warnings to not do so.

Federal prosecutors have indicted six people in a $32 million international scam that victimized 80 attorneys in Alabama, Georgia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Canada.

The Federal Reserve's forthcoming regulations on debit interchange may settle a long-running debate over whether fraud costs and risks are high enough to justify banks' current fees.

Less than one-fourth of consumers have signed up for debit card overdraft coverage from banks, and 70% say they want to continue to exercise choice in their debit-overdraft options, suggest the results of a survey Consumer Reports publisher Consumers Union released Nov. 16.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood released a statement last week warning consumers about a potential debt collection scam in Mississippi, according to ACA International, the association representing collection agencies and creditors.

The fight over debit card overdraft fees is not over, according to a consortium of consumer-advocacy groups that vows to keep the pressure on regulators to force significant changes in how banks handle such fees.

Though the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has jurisdiction over a wide range of financial products, Elizabeth Warren is making credit cards her top priority.

Debit card issuers' rewards programs are already being rewritten — and in some cases eliminated — in advance of the Federal Reserve's new interchange rules.

West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw today announced settlement agreements with three unlicensed collection agencies that will result in an estimated $1.3 million in cancelled debts for 161 West Virginia consumers and $15,337 in cash refunds, according to a news release.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 9 will hear oral arguments in a case that may determine whether card issuers may handle customer disputes through arbitration or potentially more costly class-action lawsuits, industry experts say.

Collection agency Unicredit America Inc., based in Erie, Pa., agreed Tuesday to cease collection tactics that Pennsylvania regulators say included a sham courtroom where customers were summoned, see story.

More than half a year after the centerpiece protections of a sweeping overhaul of credit card regulation took effect, portfolio yields appear to have stabilized at their highest levels in two decades.

The outcome of Tuesday’s Election Day results could have meaningful implications for the card industry, including affecting the odds of credit card interchange legislation emerging next year, analysts at New York-based equity firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods said in a report released Monday.

Effective Jan. 1, merchants and payments companies must ensure their systems comply with versions 2.0 of the Payment Card Industry and Payment Application data-security standards the PCI Security Standards Council released Oct. 28.

Setting a limit on credit card interest rates could adversely affect several government programs seeking to provide Filipinos with financial services, contends the Bankers Association of the Philippines regarding plans in that country to cap card interest rates.