Fed extends comment period on interchange proposal

The Federal Reserve delayed the comment deadline on its proposal to lower the maximum interchange fee that covered debit card issuers may receive for debit card transactions, as advocated by ICBA.

Comment Extension: The Fed extended the comment deadline from Feb. 12 to May 12. It also published additional data related to the interchange fee cap to give the public additional information in considering the proposal.

Joint Letter: ICBA and other groups in November urged the Fed to adopt a 90-day extension, noting 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 proposal, ICBA expressed deep concerns about its impact on community banks and the communities they serve.