Debt Card Increases Under Justice Dept Review

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2011-11-22/debit-card-fee-increases-under-u-s-justice-department-review.html



The U.S. Justice Department is conducting an antitrust review of statements and actions by banks and their trade associations about imposing fees on customers who use debit cards. The Federal Reserve, acting on a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, imposed rules on Oct. 1 limiting fees card networks charge merchants to 21 cents per transaction, about half what retailers had been paying. In response, lenders including Bank of America and Wells Fargo considered new charges for debit customers to make up some of the $8 billion the largest banks may lose under the rules. House Democrats who last month asked Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether U.S. banks and their trade groups colluded on whether to impose fees in response to caps on what they can charge for using debit cards.