Law and regulation

In theory, retailers just gained significant ground in their fight against payment card fees.

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.

Despite the uncertainties surrounding debit card programs caused by the pending overhaul next year of debit card interchange rates, certain alternative payment-network operators say they are seeing an uptick of interest from card issuers and merchants.

Regulatory reforms may help MasterCard Inc. steal debit card market share from Visa Inc., but it's not clear whether that would do much for its bottom line.

The Federal Reserve Board or the planned Consumer Financial Protection Bureau likely will have considerable input into any future regulation regarding network-branded reloadable prepaid debit cards, two industry observers suggest.

MasterCard Worldwide expects to increase its U.S. debit market share as a result of new network-routing rules included in pending federal changes in debit card interchange policies, Chris McWilton, MasterCard’s U.S. Markets president, said Sept. 23 at the company’s symposium for media and analysts at its headquarters in Purchase, N.Y.

Bharti Airtel Ltd. has become the first mobile operator in India to receive a license from the Reserve Bank of India to offer mobile-payment services, the New Delhi-based company announced Sept. 22.

As community banks adjust to big rule changes on overdraft fees, a new threat looms in the courtroom.

US Search Inc., an online data broker that charged consumers $10 based on a promise that it could lock their records so others could not see or buy them, has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that its claims were deceptive and violated federal law.

The Federal Trade Commission moved to strengthen an enforcement program aimed at stopping deceptive mortgage advertising by proposing a rule to ban all material misrepresentations in advertising about consumer mortgages.