Payment fees

The growth and dominant market share position of payment cards in U.K. retail sales is prompting a new pushback from retailers who are wary of rising network fees.

Seth Frotman, whose student lending unit had been gutted in May, said the bureau's current leadership "has abandoned its duty to fairly and robustly enforce the law.”

Cash discounting, or informing customers that items in the store are priced less expensively if purchased with cash, does not have the legal barriers of straight surcharging, which is simply charging more for products to cover card fees.

When offered in a fair and transparent manner, DCC provides real value and benefit to both the cardholder and the merchant striving for new ways to remove friction and improve their customer service experience, writes Mark Horwedel, CEO of the Merchant Advisory Group.

DCC is popular with payment processors and merchants because it almost effortlessly boosts profits, gouging an often one-time consumer instinctively comfortable and receptive to paying in his familiar home currency, writes Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Venture.

In the wake of the Parkland, Fla. school shooting, a New York Times columnist has suggested the financial industry stop doing business with gun dealers. Here's what the leaders of five financial institutions – including one with a personal connection to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School – had to say about the proposal.

American Express claims its rules allow it to better compete against other major card networks. The complaining states view anti-card steering rules as a way to block other networks from offering lower fees, thus resulting in retailers raising prices for consumers.

If the company they plan to establish comes together and works — still a big if — it could give JPMorgan an edge in competing with other banks, lead to innovative payments and other products and create unforeseen issues.

Dueling blockchain stories — one arguing it was virtually useless, the other saying it could change real estate lending — seized the top spots this week, while readers also focused on tax reform aftermath and a key Senate retirement.

Merchants have been challenging surcharge bans in numerous states on free-speech grounds. They have the wind at their backs following another court victory on Wednesday.