Supreme Court won't hear dispute over debit card fees

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected a challenge from retailers who claim the Federal Reserve allows banks to charge businesses too much for handling debit card transactions.

The justices on Tuesday let stand a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the Fed's cap of about 24 cents per transaction on so-called "swipe fees." That ruling was a setback for merchants who pay the fees to banks every time a customer uses a debit card to make a payment.

Before the cap, fees averaged 44 cents per swipe. But retailers wanted it even lower and argued that the Fed improperly used data that made the cap too high.

A federal judge struck down the cap last year, but a federal appeals court overturned that decision in a win for the banks.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150120/us--supreme_court-debit_card_fees-302c57429e.html

[Trillo]

1. It's an incentive to only accept cash.

On the one hand, the government wants to track every transaction, easily enabled by debit cards. On the other hand, charging for the transaction itself provides a disincentive to accept debit cards.

[FBaggins]

5. Not much of one

The loss of customers who only pay with cards is far more expensive to the average business than the cost of accepting those cards.

It could, however, be an incentive to drive as much of your business as possible to alternate payment options such as paypal, custom smartphone apps, and mobile payment options - to the extent that their fees are competitive (yet to be seen).

[Ferd Berfel]

2. We'd probably be better off if we went back to all cash

[onehandle]

3. Sounds like big retail isn't bribing SCOTUS's lobbyists as much as big banks are.

SCOTUS is 100% run by K Street.

[2naSalit]

4. Best Answer!!!! +1