SAN ANTONIO - MasterCard Worldwide is still studying whether and how to put into place a two-tier interchange schedule to accord with coming debit cap regulations, according to an executive with the card brand.

Chris McWilton, president of U.S. Markets for MasterCard, told executives at the PSCU Financial Services’ 2011 Senior Leadership Workshop & Member Forum today that the card processing company was still evaluating whether to put that option into place.

McWilton noted that even if the card brand does that, there is no guarantee in the law that merchants will not discriminate against card issuers in the higher-interchange tier.

He also said that Americans were turning to the use of credit and credited the industry with helping the American economy to recover even if a few card issuers had used deceptive practices against consumers. It is the bulk of U.S. consumers that use credit responsibly who will continue to help fuel the recovery, McWilton added.

He also urged more credit unions to adapt their website to bring more value to their members’ management of their money through payments and other transactions. People who use their banks or credit union websites have been found to be significantly more likely to move to different financial institutions, he said.

Other levels of management control might include the ability to set debit and credit card spending limits and parameters so, for example, that a child’s debit card can be limited to buying only certain items.

Innovations of this type, McWilton said, will help members keep finding their credit unions useful and a key part of their financial management strategy.