interchange fees

Washington's efforts at financial reform keep having strange and unintended consequences. In response to a law that was meant to lower excessive debit card transaction fees on merchants, Visa and Mastercard found a way to raise the fees on a host of small businesses.

Interest is growing around the idea of using your mobile phone to pay for goods and services. Visa recently announced its intention to let people transfer cash to one another using their cell phones, and software developers are working on programs that would turn your phone into a kind of virtual...

The era of free checking accounts is coming to an end. Many consumers will face an extra $144 a year in account fees, plus higher dues for their debit cars, and increased ATM charges, too. It's all part of a banking industry backlash against last year's consumer friendly financial reforms.

PNC Bank, a major regional bank with 2,500 branches in 15 states, announced that it will no longer offer debit rewards and out-of-network ATM reimbursements on its free checking accounts, starting Sept. 12. Unlike some other big banks, though, PNC customers will still get free checking with no...

You might not think you have a lot in common with the largest banks. But in some ways you do, which is part of the reason why individual checking account holders and debit card users can expect to see their bank fees increase this year. First, some history. Over the last couple of years, as the...

New rules proposed by the Fed for debit card transactions may mean consumers end up paying more to use their cards, while big retailers save billions. The rules would sharply limit the transaction fees sellers pay, so banks could recoup that money from buyers.

The Federal Reserve Board proposed rules Thursday that may dramatically cut the interchange fees that banks charge merchants for debit card transactions. The Fed suggested capping the fees at 12 cents a transaction. Currently, banks charge merchants 1% to 2% of the dollar value of the...

It's a fee we pay every day, but it's invisible. And if Robert Johnson is correct, it's strangling the economy. For those of you who don't know what an interchange fee, a little introduction is in order. Interchange fee, meet the person reading this, whom you already know, if they have a pulse and...