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04/01/2011 -
Main Street could get a hand from Wall Street, as the Federal Reserve recently proposed a cap on the swipe fees paid to credit card companies from business owners when a consumer uses a debit or credit card, reports CNN.The move could save money for small businesses, but would cut into credit card company profits.
Swipe fees from credit card payments have become a sore point, according to the news source, as debit card use is on the rise. This has led to fees that take an even bigger chunk out of a small business budget. Approximately 80 percent of fees stem from debit card transactions.
"Every year the number of people who don't use cash increases. There are an awful lot of people who come through my door who have no money in their pocket," Dennis Lane, owner of a 7-Eleven convenience store in Quincy, Massachusetts told CNN.
The Fed's fee cap would cut expenses for small business by as much as 90 percent, according to the publication.
New regulations are not getting rave reviews from credit card companies.
"Experience demonstrates that consumers, not banks or payment networks, are the biggest losers as a result of this regulation," Noah J. Hanft, MasterCard's general counsel, told the New York Times.
