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This spring, U.S. Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Bill Shuster (R-PA), introduced HR 2382, the Credit Card Interchange Fees Act of 2009.  Welch, the bill’s author, states that “credit card fees are killing small businesses.”  The act, targeted to help small retailers, would limit the fees charged to merchants.  It would also prohibit charging higher fees to merchants when customers use reward cards and would give the Federal Trade Commission the right to review interchange fees. Continue reading "Interchange Fee Legislation – Who Will Pay The Price?"

According to MasterCard’s presentation at the Goldman Sachs US Financial Services Conference on Dec 8, retail sales are showing positive signs – relative to payment cards.  They cited November as the third consecutive month of growth since July, 2008.  They attributed the growth to changes in consumer attitudes.  Consumers are focusing more on quality and value, have more control over finances and have become more frugal, which is a shift back to traditional roots of credit card use.  When the first payment card, Diners Club, was introduced in 1950, members had to pay off their balances each month.  There was no such thing as revolving credit.  Today, consumers are still using credit, but more responsibly. Continue reading "What Card Payment Usage is Telling Us"