Montana convenience stores speak out on the efforts of a state senator. Montana c-store operators target U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., in a newspaper and TV ad, denouncing him for his 2011 effort to stall new limits on debit card “swipe fees” charged by banks, the Missoulian reported. The ads launched last weekend, claiming that…
Durbin Hits, Fight Escalates
Retailers may have won the right to debit fee caps for now, but banks are raising fees and pointing the finger at merchants, while some lawmakers look to repeal the interchange caps. By Erin Rigik, Associate Editor. The long awaited Durbin Amendment went into effect on Oct. 1, capping interchange fees well above the 7-12…
Merchants Get More Than $10 Million Thanks To Durbin
Heartland Payment Systems releases latest data about Durbin Amendment’s actual effects on business owners. A grand total of $11,720,068 in signature debit interchange reductions have been deposited into merchant bank accounts by Heartland Payment Systems, one of the nation’s largest payments processors. Of these Durbin Dollars, restaurant merchants received $4,042,859 and lodging merchants received $513,852.…
NACS Issues an Urgent Industry Call to Action on Swipe Fee Reform
“We are locked in a difficult battle and we cannot afford to be defeated. Retailers must contact their senators and urge them vote against the Tester Amendment. If not, all of the hard work we have done over the past decade on swipe fee reform could be lost in an instant. Losing simply isn’t an…
Interchange Reform Continues
Now that the Durbin Amendment, part of the Wall Street reform bill, has been signed into law by President Obama, the industry continues to address issues related to interchange reform. Texas Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association (TPCA) President Chris Newton noted the amendment was “an important first step” in dealing with the negative impacts…
Senate Passes Financial Reform
The convenience and petroleum retailing industry are now celebrating the end of a nearly 10-year battle to rein in interchange fees. Yesterday, July 15, the U.S. Senate voted 60 to 39 in support of the financial reform package known as the Dodd-Frank Bill that contains the crucial interchange amendment, NACS reported. Thursday’s vote was the…
Agreement Reached On Interchange
Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) and key conferees have reached an agreement on the Wall Street reform bill, regarding his amendment regulating interchange fees, NACS reported. The agreement makes minor, clarifying changes to the language, which passed the Senate 64 to 33 on May 13, and responds to concerns raised by state governments…
Senate Passes Swipe Fee Reform
The U.S. Senate voted to include swipe fee reform in the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 through an amendment introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin. Specifically, the measure is expected to ensure that debit card transactions are reasonable and proportional to the cost of processing the transaction. “Tonight, the Senate stood up to the…
New Interchange Amendment Needs Retailer Attention
More than 170 amendments have been filed to the financial regulatory reform bill now before the Senate, and to expedite the process, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has asked senators to consolidate their amendments, NACS reported. On Monday night, Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL) filed a new amendment (#3932), merging the main provisions of…
Swipe Fee Fight Mounts
Building on 7-Eleven’s successful “Stop Unfair Credit Card Fees” consumer petition campaign, convenience store operators joined with U.S. Representatives Peter Welch and Bill Shuster to deliver an additional two million new customer signatures collected during the NACS “Stop Unfair Swipe Fees” campaign, which is asking Congress to put an end to unfair, hidden credit and…