Insights
E-Commerce Spending for November Up 11% Over 2013, comScore Reports
Electronic-commerce spending from work and home desktop computers from Nov 1-23 hit $17.5 billion, up 11% from $15.8 billion in the same period a year earlier, Internet metrics firm comScore Inc. reported Tuesday. Most e-commerce spending is charged to credit and debit payment cards, so the early results for the 2014 holiday season bode well…
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Three Years After Durbin, Debit Pricing Flaw Still Drives up Cost for Small-Ticket Sellers
Three years after the Durbin Amendment took effect, the law’s painful impact on the cost of selling soda, candy, newspapers, and other small-ticket items remains an issue. And things may stay that way unless the newly elected Congress acts after taking office at the turn of the year, observers say. The problem is that Durbin,…
Read MorePulse Sues ‘Long-Time Monopolist’ Visa Over Post-Durbin Debit Actions, Seeks Rival’s ‘Restructuring’
Over the past several years, during his conference calls with analysts to review Discover Financial Services’ quarterly earnings, chief executive David W. Nelms occasionally took swipes at Visa Inc.’s efforts to maintain its dominant debit card market share in the wake of the Durbin Amendment, which severely undercut Visa’s Interlink PIN-debit network. For example, in…
Read MoreMerchants Notch Win in Feud Over Debit Card Fees
Federal Judge Richard Leon’s decision to overturn a U.S. Federal Reserve rule on debit card interchange fees charged by banks represents a victory for retailers, and will likely force the Fed to reduce such fees. Leon ruled that the Fed did not do an adequate job of ensuring that the fees accurately reflected the actual…
Read MoreCourt Overturns the Federal Reserve’s Debit Transaction Cap
Yesterday, The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued a decision striking down the Federal Reserve’s price caps on debit interchange fees. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that the Federal Reserve did not appropriately fulfill Congress’s intent of the Durbin Amendment, a provision of the Dodd-Frank legislation. Fees will not be lowered, however,…
Read MoreMerchants Allowed to Surcharge
Beginning January 27, 2013, merchants in the United States and U.S. Territories will be permitted to impose a surcharge on consumers when they use a credit card. Historically Visa has not permitted retailer surcharging, but allowing surcharging was a key provision required by merchants to settle long-standing litigation brought by a class of retailers in…
Read MoreAmericans See Smartphones Replacing Cash and Cards
About 60 percent of U.S. adults believe that smartphone payments will eventually replace payment cards and cash transactions for most purchases, according to a new Harris poll. Moreover, 27 percent of Americans, and 44 percent of smartphone users, say they want to use their smartphone to process in-person payments. The survey also uncovered a generational…
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