by Pie Guevara
The Durbin amendment by Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill allows the Federal Reserve Bank to dictate debit card interchange rates. This brought about the situation of banks charging a debit card fee for sales transactions (swipe fee) to bank customers.
To add insult to injury, Durbin is now posturing anger over bank swipe fees his legislation instituted and encouraged! In any case, such swipe fees do not apply to bank ATM withdrawals, only purchases. While I have enjoyed the convenience of using a debit card to make purchases and not having to carry large amounts of cash or write checks, I’ll simply change my habits back to cash, check writing, or using the charge card instead of a debit card. That or move to a bank that does not charge swipe fees.
Just out of principle. I am sick and tired of every time I turn around getting hit with a fee encouraged by or mandated by government. Have you ever closely examined the fees you pay in your land line phone bill? Thank you Mr. Gore! Thank you Mr. Durbin!
Are you trying to tell us that the wicked government forced the BofA to impose that fee?
Cause that’s just silly. The fed sets rates as in: “this is as much as, the upper limit, you can charge”.
And again, I feel kind of strange explaining the obvious, but we just can’t let all this, umm, misrepresentation go unchallenged.
Libby, that was my understanding of the situation as well. I don’t quite understand how Pie is reaching the conclusion that this is what caused BofA to start charging; it feels like a massive leap, but maybe he can explain it better?
“And again, I feel kind of strange explaining the obvious, but we just can’t let all this, umm, misrepresentation go unchallenged.”
I tend to get the same feeling here sometimes.
Re Libby: “Are you trying to tell us that the wicked government forced the BofA to impose that fee?
No, I am not saying that. You still haven’t looked this up for yourself or followed link I posted in the earlier Post Script blog entry on fees, have you? I wonder why you insist upon being so uninformed and continue to stick your head in the sand.
I am saying no more than what other financial analysts have said. Since the Durban amendment has allowed the Federal Reserve Bank to dictate swipe fees banks have had to go to charging a monthly swipe fee to their customers to make up for loss in income.
Get it?
Now Libby, here is your chance to shine!
This should be a piece of cake for your prowess as an English Major (as you are so fond of telling us). Your assignment is to post a cogent expository as to how former President Bush and AIG are connected to Greek government bankruptcy, the sky high debt of California and California’s impending bankruptcy, the cuts in pay for Sacramento Police officers, and debit card swipe fees from BOA and other banks.
Do you remember? This remarkable assertion you made in the comments section of the “Bank Of America Poll” blog post.
Please be specific and detailed in your argument on just how you have arrived at this astonishing connection. You know how just plain dumb I am. You will have to be explicit. Show each step of the way and provide references.
I know you can do it!
Pie: “No, I am not saying that.”
Pie: “The Durbin amendment by Senator Dick Durbin, D-Ill allows the Federal Reserve Bank to dictate debit card interchange rates. This brought about the situation of banks charging a debit card fee for sales transactions (swipe fee) to bank customers.”
Yes, you are. How long we gonna play this silly game?
That leg says to the banks there is a limit, 22 cents, to how much a bank can charge a merchant every time you swipe your debit card. The leg does not say to the banks: “go forth, and find some other way to gouge yer customers.” This is entirely the bank’s doing.
“Since the Durban amendment has allowed the Federal Reserve Bank to dictate swipe fees banks have had to go to charging a monthly swipe fee to their customers to make up for loss in income.”
Ah, I see what you mean now. It doesn’t logically follow at all, obviously, but I see what you were trying to do.
Banks are most definitely trying to make up for those regulatory changes that cost them their old fee structure. That much is a given and banks have made no secret out of it. Right now Citi bank is following B of A’s actions.
Here’s a thought and it’s an action that we’ve always had and we didn’t a Durban amendment to do it: Move your account to a bank or credit union doesn’t charge as much. Can you imagine what will happen to those petty hikes if 20 million of us made that shift to more competitive banks?
Durbin’s indignation over bank fees is a bit misplaced. After all, this was HIS amendment and HIS party voted for it.
Wonder where all his indignation was before the vote. Or did you not read your own amendment, Mr. Durbin?
Yep, I knew Libby had nothing. So much for cogent exposition.
Well, here we go again into the realm of liberalism is a mental disorder and the rule of unintended consequences.
The swipe fee charged to bank customers was the necessary result of the Durbin amendment so that banks could make up up for the loss in revenue.
It was a predictable consequence of Durbin’s legislation.
Financial analysts warned of this happening long before the bill was passed with the Durbin amendment attached.
The usual dim bulb leftists didn’t get it then and still don’t get it now. I am beginning to think such abject stupidity from the left is either intentional or unavoidable.
To heck with these leftist ostriches. There is no hope and no light at the bottom of the sand pit.
Conservatives and other folks who are not mentally defective please take note and vote accordingly.
“It was a predictable consequence of Durbin’s legislation.”
Indeed. So now, what was hidden is reveal. Now we know we is being gouged, and boy is we pissed.
And we also know, we have the Dems to thank for this revelation.