Fed Won't Propose Revision to Debit Swipe Fees

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Reserve isn't budging on debit card swipe fees.

The Federal Reserve Board released a report Sept. 18 containing summary information on the volume and value, interchange fee revenue, certain issuer costs and fraud losses related to debit card transactions in 2013.

In that report, the board said it does not plan to propose revisions to the swipe fee rule implemented in October 2011. That rule limited debit card swipe fees to 21 cents per transaction.

The Fed's biannual report on debit card costs and fraud losses, which is mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act, revealed that total debit card transactions grew 6.8 percent between 2012 and 2013, while transactions where a card was not present rose 18.1 percent, according to CNBC.

This news comes as retailers continue to battle the swipe fee rule on a legal level. In June, retailers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal on the Federal Reserve rules concerning debit card swipe fees, known also as interchange fees, as CSNews Online previously reported.