ICBA to Fed: Extend comment period on interchange proposal

ICBA and other groups urged the Federal Reserve Board to extend the comment period on its proposal to lower the maximum interchange fee that covered debit card issuers may receive for debit card transactions.

Joint Letter: The groups urged the Fed to extend the 90-day comment period by at least an additional 90 days. In a joint letter, they noted that the Office of the Federal Register has indicated that extended comment periods of 180 days or more are appropriate for complex proposals and that the proposal coincides with a number of other major rulemaking proceedings.

Fed Proposal: The Fed’s proposal would adjust the interchange fee cap for debit card issuers with at least $10 billion in assets to reflect changes in issuer costs since the rule first took effect in 2011. It also would establish a regular process for updating the maximum amount every other year based on issuer cost data.

ICBA Response: In a national news release following the release of the letter last month, ICBA expressed deep concerns about the impact of the proposal on community banks and the communities they serve.