I know it might sound strange to pay more fees for every swipe of your debit card, but amazingly it is in your best interest. The Federal Reserve is looking at capping debit card transactions fees to 12 cents a swipe as opposed to the industry standard of 44 cents. By imposing cost controls it will result in the dying out of most free checking accounts and the end of the dynamic strength of the market’s ability to adapt. Just so we understand, this fee of 44 cents isn’t directly paid by the consumer, rather it is a fee assessed to the merchant at the time of the transaction. This is very common with all forms of cards.
Credit cards charge the merchant a fee upwards of $2.50 depending on the company issuing the card (Discover, American Express, Visa, etc). Discover and American Express are the big hitters in this, which is why they aren’t offered everywhere. Debit cards function as a little guy in this card swiping game. Banks tend to use some of these profits to pay for added value to their other services.
Wouldn’t it be nice if every time you thought about helping a candidate run for public office you weren’t first asked for money? Wouldn’t it be nice if even the poorest individual could run for public office if he or she was the most qualified? I know it sounds like a dream land. The wonderful reality of this story is that it actually exists in a handful of states.
