Searching for an update on the new interchange regulations just announced? Get the skinny here. If you are a merchant, this is what you need to know.
On June 29, 2011, the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) approved the final regulations for section 920 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act as amended by section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Although all parties have yet to determine the complete costs of both Signature Debit, and Pin Debit interchange, we would like to share the information provided to date.
Key points include:
- Interchange regulations are effective on October 1, 2011
- Interchange fee standard has been set as a cap composed of a base component of 21 cents and an ad valoreum component of 5 basis points to reflect a portion of Issuers fraud losses
- An additional 1 cent per transaction for fraud prevention
- Network routing and exclusivity
- Network routing (merchant choice) is effective on October 1, 2011
- Issuers must enable two unaffiliated networks for electronic transactions, regardless of authentication type. Networks must comply by October 1, 2011
- The prohibition on network exclusivity as it relates to Issuers is effective on April 1, 2012
*These restriction do not apply to issuers of less than Ten Billion in total assests.
For your convenience, the FRB’s final regulations are located at: http://www.federalreserve.gov/aboutthefed/boardmeetings/20110629openmemo.htm
Visa will be hosting a conference call on 7/6/11 beginning at 4:30 PM EDT to discuss the Fed rules. Visit http://investor.visa.com/ to attend the live webcast.
This will likely mean that your debit card interchange swipe fees will be going down later this year. If you would like to have your rates lowered, please contact us at info[at]prineta.com.