In early June, the Senate rejected an amendment that would have delayed for 12 months a proposed Federal Reserve rule that would reduce the charge per debit card transaction (swipe fees) to 12 cents from an average of 44 cents.
The rule was required by last year’s financial overhaul and is set to go into effect on July 21, but the Fed has yet to issue a final rule. The amendment has been the subject of a high-profile battle between retailers and banks.
NAA/NMHC are following the issue based on the impact that reduced fees could have on the industry’s efforts to automate rent payment. The Fed proposal would roughly equalize the cost of accepting debit cards and of processing automated check handling (ACH) transactions. (Transaction fees for credit cards or non-PIN debit cards would, however, remain higher.)