BizSugar.com › Finance › Durbin Amendment May Be Bad for Retailers

Wednesday, the Senate failed to get the 60 votes necessary to delay the Durbin Amendment which sets forth rules capping interchange fees for debit cards. Interchange fees are fees retailers are charged each time they accept payment by debit card or credit card. Currently the bank charges an average of 44 cents for each debit card swipe processed. According to 2009 data from the Federal Reserve, these fees add up to about $16 billion over the course of a year. These fees are reported to pay for administrative and anti-fraud expenses–according to the banks.