Retailers Applaud Ruling on Swipe Fees

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled today that the Federal Reserve misapplied Congress’ intent when it implemented required swipe fee reform regarding how much retailers are charged for debit card transactions. "From the very beginning, retailers and restaurants knew the Federal Reserve Board of Governors had grossly misapplied the swipe fee law, also known as the Durbin Amendment," said Mallory Duncan, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Retail Federation (NRF). "They failed to heed Congress’ call to set fee standards that were ‘reasonable’ and ‘proportional’ to the actual cost of a transaction."