NAFCU cybersecurity and payments committee discusses interchange, digital currency

NAFCU’s Cybersecurity and Payments Committee met yesterday to discuss the latest developments on interchange, the Federal Reserve issuing a request for comment (RFC) to seek input on proposed guidelines for evaluating requests for accounts and services at Federal Reserve Banks, central bank digital currency, and more.

During the meeting, committee members shared insights into their credit unions’ interest in pursuing new payments-related initiatives or projects.

Committee members received a briefing from NAFCU staff regardingrenewed efforts to the North Dakota-based associations representing retailers lawsuit filed against the Federal Reserve, arguing the Fed should lower the cap on interchange fees for debit card transactions. NAFCU has already issued a statement opposing any efforts that would lower debit card interchange fees.

In early May, the Federal Reserve reopened comment on Regulation II to address routing practices. The recently published proposal states that debit card issuers should enable, and allow merchants to choose from, at least two unaffiliated networks for card-not-present transactions. The proposal does not make changes to provisions related to interchange fee pricing or alter the exemption granted to small debit issuers under $10 billion in assets.

 

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