Retailers and merchants in the US have welcomed the Federal Reserve’s long-awaited approval of new rules making it clear that merchants’ right to choose which payment networks process trillions of dollars in debit card transactions each year applies the same online as it does in stores and must be honoured by banks and card companies.
The US House introduction of the Credit Card Competition Act to check skyrocketing swipe fees has been welcomed by industry associations. The bill addresses “swipe” fees averaging over 2% of the transaction that banks and card networks charge merchants to process credit card transactions.
