Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has weighed in with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Federal Reserve's rule on the debit "swipe fee" failed to follow the law, according to published reports.
Sen. Durbin is the author of the law that required the Federal Reserve to issue rules regarding the transaction fees that retailers are forced to charge customers when they swipe a debit card.
In a brief filed with the court by retail groups, Durbin said, “The amendment was carefully crafted and its purpose was clearly expressed. Unfortunately, the Board’s final rulemaking failed to sufficiently follow the text and purpose of the law. Because interchange fees are ultimately borne by consumers in the form of higher retail prices, consumers have suffered as a result.”
The National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation (NRF), Boscov’s department stores and Miller Oil Co., filed a lawsuit that argues that the 21-cent cap set by the Fed in 2011 goes beyond the “reasonable and proportional” level mandated by Congress under the Durbin Amendment provisions of the Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection and Wall Street Reform Act of 2010.
After a U.S. appeals court ruled against retailers, the groups petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to examine that decision.
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