An executive with the Independent Community Bankers Association authored an opinion piece in the Feb. 7 Washington Post decrying the debit interchange cap.
"Supporters of the new federal fee-setting claim that forcing card issuers to charge merchants drastically lower interchange fees will eventually benefit consumers in the form of lower prices for goods and services," wrote Karen Thomas, senior executive vice president for public policy for the ICBA. "But evidence shows that's not true. The Australian government imposed vastly lower interchange fees in 2003. Studies show that merchants there did not pass on any savings to consumers. The merchants simply pocketed the extra profits while receiving the same debit card benefits," she added.
