What does the new legislation have to do with the interchange fee?
Merchants have been lobbying to have the interchange fee reduced on debit and credit cards in order to increase their own profits. Interchange income is a small percentage of purchases that retailers pay for the convenience of accepting cards as a form of payment. The income goes to Visa and MasterCard for creating and maintaining the networks and to credit unions and banks for issuing the cards. Retailers want the benefit and convenience of the network — where they obtain their payments immediately with little risk — without having to pay to use it.
