Twenty restaurants and cafes in the Boston and Washington, D.C., areas staged a one-day credit card boycott on Tuesday, targeted at interchange fees charged by card issuers. But it wasn't an grassroots, merchant-led event. It was organized by mobile payment processor LevelUp.
Drivers are feeling the sting of rising gas prices, with the cost of regular gas up 15 cents a gallon just in the last month. Convenience chain Cumberland Farms hopes it can ease the pain with a new app that offers a 10 cent per gallon discount at the pump.
This Sunday marks the first day that consumers could start paying an extra fee just for using their credit card to make purchases. But don't panic: It's unlikely to kick in right away, especially at the biggest retailers.
Merchants have long sought the right to charge customers more for paying with a credit card, which would help them defray the cost of accepting plastic. That's currently banned by Visa and MasterCard, but deal in the works could change that.
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.
A new report emerged Tuesday that Wells Fargo will begin charging some customers $3 every month to use their debit card -- further indication that banks are putting on the squeeze as new swipe-card regulations are set to take effect.
We got lots of reaction to our article about how changes in debit and credit card swipe fees may affect you. Swipe fees are the charges retailers pay when they allow you to use plastic. One question kept coming up: "Do I pay those fees when I use my debit card?" Regina Lewis explains.
Banks received some long-awaited news last week: the Fed capped the fees they can charge to retailers on debit card transactions at roughly 24 cents per transaction, down from an average of 44 cents. It was better than they'd feared: The initial proposal was a 12 cent cap. But how will all those pennies add up for consumers?
The Federal Reserve is preparing to issue its final rule on debit card "swipe fees" Wednesday. If the expected cut to those fees arrives, banks are likely to respond by cutting interest rates on high-yield checking accounts and squeezing profits from other banking products. DailyFinance explains what it all means to you.
Credit card companies are seeking to delay enforcement of lower limits on so-called "swipe fees." If successful, the postponement will cost customers and retailers more than $1 billion a month.
The Federal Reserve on Thursday proposed a new rule that would dramatically cut the swipe fees that banks charge merchants when customers use debit cards. The move, which stems from a provision in the financial overhaul bill in July, could benefit stores. But banks say it could harm consumers.
The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against American Express Monday, alleging that the financial institution has been engaging in anticompetitive practices. Justice also said it reached a proposed settlement with Visa and MasterCard over similar charges.
Provisions now in the financial regulation overhaul may end up saving Americans on everything from debit cards to mortgages. How else will the emerging new rules affect consumers?
The estimated $48 billion that merchants pay to banks and credit card companies for the use of those ubiquitous terminals is at stake as Congress considers a proposal that could limit the fees incurred every time you swipe.