Retail Org Appeals to Supreme Court on Fee Ruling

The National Retail Federation petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review a lower court’s ruling about the debit swipe fee cap.

The U.S. Circuit Court ruling left in place the Federal Reserve’s 21-cent cap per transaction fee rather than lowering it as NRF and the plaintiffs — the National Association of Convenience Stores, the Food Marketing Institute, the National Restaurant Association and several large companies — had asked.

“There’s so much at stake here for U.S. retailers and their customers that we have no choice but to pursue this case as far as possible,” said Mallory Duncan, NRF senior vice president and general counsel.

Before adopting the 21-cent cap, the Fed calculated the average cost at 4 cents per transaction and initially proposed a cap of no higher than 12 cents. According to NRF, the Fed settled on 21 cents after lobbying from the financial services industry.

“When a federal agency blatantly disregards the clear intent of legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the president, that’s a dispute that cannot be ignored,” Duncan said.