Judith Rinearson, a partner with the law firm Bryan cave LLP, laid out 13 questions prepaid professionals can ask to determine whether they are subject to the provisions of the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd Frank Act. While program managers still need to consult with their own lawyers to determine how to navigate the new environment, the article attempts to provide a framework for having those discussions.
The 13 questions posed in this article can help you identify whether you as an issuer or your prepaid card program is eligible for the interchange exemption, fraud prevention adjustment and routing/exclusivity exemptions. Answer yes or not the question(s) posed in each section and, based on your response, view the likely coverage. Be sure to read all questions because an exemption on one criterion may be superseded by another factor.
Even with an exemption for prepaid products, the exemptions are not absolute, so all program managers must consider the structure of their programs in context of the new rules.
Download prepaid Durbin ruling overview at Paybefore here: http://www.paybefore.com/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=19398
