WASHINGTON—NAFCU, CUNA, and five other financial trades urged the Federal Reserve Board to revise its biennial debit card issuer survey to ensure that debit card program data is captured more accurately and fully.
In a joint letter to the Fed, the trades particularly noted the importance of collecting accurate data on the costs of authorization, clearing and settlement. The trades also recommended that the survey begin no earlier than Feb. 15 and that respondents be given at least 90 days to complete the survey.
“We strongly support the Board’s proposal to remove the separation of Issuer costs into fixed and variable components,” the trades wrote. “While the separation may have proven useful in the context of ongoing litigation related to the interchange fee standard, that litigation is concluded, and the burden and inaccuracy from these allocations far outweigh any potential ongoing usefulness.”
Other trades that signed the letter include the American Bankers Association, the Clearing House Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers of America and the Financial Services Roundtable.