Comments on: Investment News Briefs http://moneymorning.com/2009/10/15/investment-news-briefs-95/ Global Investment News Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:41:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Brian J. Donovan http://moneymorning.com/2009/10/15/investment-news-briefs-95/comment-page-1/#comment-7872 Brian J. Donovan Thu, 15 Oct 2009 10:44:17 +0000 http://www.moneymorning.com/?p=9443#comment-7872 It is definitely time to disrupt the status quo with either meaningful state or federal credit card regulation, specifically interchange fee regulation. The average interchange fee in the U.S. is seven times the interchange fee set by Visa and MasterCard in countries throughout the rest of the world. Using 2008 figures, if the interchange fee charged by credit card issuers was decreased (via comprehensive credit card reform legislation) from the current 2.10% to 0.60%, the result would be an annual savings of approximately $34.3 billion for U.S. merchants and consumers. Credit card issuers could retain 0.3% as a processing fee, the remaining 0.3% could be a "tax" used to fund a Natural Disaster Trust Fund (NDTF). In 2008, this would have generated $6.86 billion in funding for a NDTF. The following article discusses how comprehensive, standardized, simplified, and transparent credit card reform legislation may fund a Natural Disaster Trust Fund. http://www.csnews.com/csn/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004019107 It is definitely time to disrupt the status quo with either meaningful state or federal credit card regulation, specifically interchange fee regulation.

The average interchange fee in the U.S. is seven times the interchange fee set by Visa and MasterCard in countries throughout the rest of the world. Using 2008 figures, if the interchange fee charged by credit card issuers was decreased (via comprehensive credit card reform legislation) from the current 2.10% to 0.60%, the result would be an annual savings of approximately $34.3 billion for U.S. merchants and consumers. Credit card issuers could retain 0.3% as a processing fee, the remaining 0.3% could be a "tax" used to fund a Natural Disaster Trust Fund (NDTF). In 2008, this would have generated $6.86 billion in funding for a NDTF.

The following article discusses how comprehensive, standardized, simplified, and transparent credit card reform legislation may fund a Natural Disaster Trust Fund.

http://www.csnews.com/csn/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1004019107

]]>