Debit card rules could hurt short-term financing sources

Members of the short-term financing and credit union industry were present for a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit, which dissected the impact the Dodd-Frank Act will have on financial instituions. The new act, which goes into effect this summer, puts limits on the amounts of fees institutions with more than $10 billion in assets can place on debit card swipes. Industry opponents of the bill say that such regulations will have a lasting impact on the largest source of revenue for short-term lending and credit unions. In response, the Electronic Payments Coalition issued a statement that rebukes the Dodd-Frank Act. "Today's hearing confirmed what community banks, credit unions and their customers have been saying for months: The Federal Reserve debit card interchange rule will hurt small financial institutions and their customers. The so-called 'exemption' for these institutions simply will not work." The Dodd-Frank Act was created by former Connecticut Senator Christopher Dodd and Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank in response to the economic downturn and aims to further protect consumers from high banking interest rates.