Credit Card Acceptance Rules Change

By Bob Goldberg, RSPA General Counsel

Merchants and consumers have long been frustrated by restrictions, requirements, and charges imposed with credit/debit card acceptance and usage. Action was taken in the United States Congress to reduce fees associated with debit cards (Durbin Amendment). The Federal Reserve Board has issued regulations implementing the Congressional mandate cutting the debit card fee by fifty percent. Merchants stung with PCI fees, penalties, investigative costs, and interest have brought private causes of action against processors and banks. The United States Department of Justice filed antitrust charges against the card companies and recently Visa and MasterCard agreed to settle those charges. The court approved the settlement and the card companies announced changes to their rules that provide greater flexibility to merchants accepting cards. These changes need to be communicated to the merchant community and you could be the bearer of good news.