Fed Proposal on Debit Card 'Swipe Fees' Could Cost Banks Billions

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New Fed proposals would slash debit card "swipe fees'' for any purchase over $12

Taking a whack at one of the banking industry's biggest cash cows, the Federal Reserve Board proposed today to slash the "swipe fees" that debit card companies charge retailers for every transaction they process, a move that could cost Mastercard, Visa, and banks billions of dollars.

The Fed unveiled two alternative plans, but both of them would cap the fees at 12 cents per transaction, a huge reduction for billions of purchases. Mastercard and Visa typically charge a fee of between 1 and 2 percent, so a 12-cent cap would mean a reduction on the fee for virtually any debit card purchase of more than $12. Debit card fees generate about $20 billion in annual revenues, and the Fed said the new ceiling would be more than 70 percent below the average fee in 2009. Shares of Visa and Mastercard plummeted more than 10 percent on the news, and analysts said the new rules were likely to put a big dent in bank profits as well.   

The proposal, assuming it is adopted as final rule, would have no direct impact on consumers, who are all but oblivious that the fees even exist. But they would provide a major lift to retailers of all sizes, from 7-Eleven to Wal-Mart, who have been fighting a pitched political battle over the issue with banks for almost two years now. And the move could have an indirect benefit to consumers if retailers pass along some of their savings to customers.
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