The National Retail Federation has launched an advertising campaign calling on the House to reject efforts to repeal debit card swipe fee reform.
The campaign includes radio commercials that will air first in the Winston-Salem, N.C., area, the congressional district of Representative Ted Budd (R-NC), who has been an outspoken critic of swipe fee reform. The campaign will expand to include key congressional districts across the country and will also include full-page newspaper ads and online digital ads in some locations
The campaign comes as the House prepares to vote the week of May 22 on the Financial Choice Act.
During the Great Recession, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 mandated that debit card swipe fees be limited to a flat fee of approximately 21 cents per transaction. Before the Act, banks were charging about 45 cents per debit transaction.
The Financial Choice Act would repeal debit swipe fee reform as part of a broader rewrite of Dodd-Frank. If the law is passed by the House and Senate, and signed into law by the President, debit card swipe fees would no longer be capped.
