A study published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond titled, The Impact of the Durbin Amendment on Merchants: A Survey Study, was the topic of an article published by NACS. NACS, which represents the Association for Convenience and Fuel Retailing, noted that a majority of merchants saw no changes or an increase in their merchant fees after the implementation of the interchange caps required in the Durbin amendment and established by the Federal Reserve:
The Richmond Fed report should be a wake-up call for the U.S. Federal Reserve,” said Lyle Beckwith, senior vice president of government relations at NACS. “Ninety percent of merchants having their fees stay the same or go up makes no sense when Congress recognized that the price-fixed fees were too high already.”
The article does not mention that the study from the Richmond Fed also acknowledges that as a result of the Durbin Amendment, those financial issuers covered by the legislation are losing billions of dollars every year in interchange revenues. Now where did all that money go?
Overview by Sarah Grotta, Director, Debit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Service
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