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What is the Durbin Amendment and How Will it Affect Your Business?
It looks as though a new amendment will finally address the high “swipe fees” your small business and your customers have faced in the past. Explained away by some of the credit card giants as the “cost of doing business”, it looks as though there’s been a shift in the tides, courtesy of the Durbin Amendment. As you may already know, both Visa and MasterCard maintain the option of setting these fees for their respective offerings with little regulation. This can often result in 
frustrated customers – and odds are, you, as a small business owner, face the questions by those customers. All they know is the merchant credit card processing service cost them money and often, they aren’t even aware that it’s not you who imposed the fees, but rather, the fees were imposed after the credit card transaction had already been processed.
President and CEO of The National Retail Federation, Hank Armour, is quoted as having said the new legislation would provide “equality for check card and paper check fees”. This would result in significantly reduced swipe fees you and your customers now face. Many say it could also eliminate them in their entirety. This legislation is gaining a lot of attention and not surprisingly, both MasterCard Worldwide and Visa are vehemently opposed to the passage of this law.
While it’s not been passed in its entirety to date, it’s certainly on track to do so. It can lead to a much happier customer base for your business and a smoother credit card processing effort. The elimination of these swipe fees are good for the industry as a whole and will allow for a more transparent policy in the small business credit card processing sector.
For now, the industry specialists suggest contacting your senator to ensure your voice is heard. Visit the website here. For more information on how FDIS can help your small business grow, contact us today.
